How To Live (When You're Already Dead)
by DragonflyxParodies
Summary: <html><head></head>Making friends is difficult, after all, when one's life could end any second, and one can barely speak Hylian. Add broken magic, restless dead, and duelists who care to the mix, and those seeking to rip his soul from his body might actually stand a chance of failing. Modern AU. Sheik x Link</html>
1. Chapter 1

_**LONG ASS INFO BIT:**_

_**Rated For**__: I always think of this as the fun part 'cause you get teasers as to what to look forward to, and that's always awesome. So. Violence, including but not limited to murder, torture, fighting (Physically and verbally), serial killing (I think only one case, but I could be wrong), a moblin invasion, mentions/practices of infanticide, and dueling. Alcohol use-Mostly Link but everybody at some point, 'cept Ganondorf (duh) and Impa. I think. A lot of cultural differences and religious differences too. __Racism. Language, crude and foul. Crude humor, obviously, and general teenager drama and crap. VERY corrupt morals (I like grey). Also, young children doing things they shouldn't be. Also, trusting random internet strangers (Don't do it, kids!). Bullying, abandonment, and other related issues (Lots of this…). Angst. LOTS OF FLUFF (Which is in this section because it's fluff). Sexual innuendoes and activities (Because apparently Z was right, and Agent Firebird was mean about it), though no sex (At the moment). _

_And, while I don't feel that this has to be up here, some people freak out about it, so, YES, there are guyxguy and girlxgirl and girlxguy relationships and issues pertaining to those. And maybe some peculiar gender/sexual preference-related issues. But, no Groose x Impa! Because, you know, _ew_._

_**Notes**__: So this fic is totally different from anything I've ever done before. I generally hate all Modern Zelda AUs because everyone makes basic mistakes and puts it out of the Zelda world, so this fic works REALLY EFFING HARD to correct that and leave it a story with an awesome plotline and awesome characters and actually something worth reading without confusing you to death, like A Route does. Also, it tries to correct relationships moving faster than the speed of light, because you're not going to fall in love with someone and jump their bones and declare your undying affections for someone you've known for two seconds. Anyway, I ask that you give this a chance because I don't know what I'm doing with this and I just made it sound a lot worse than it actually is, I promise. Updates will be slow and sporadic but long, in general. This is actually the most lighthearted thing I've ever tried to write that's…you know, long. So….Try not to look back on that sentence and be horrified later on LOL._

_**The Sheikah Language is not intended to sound like/resemble any other language and any correlations are purely coincidental. I'm open to criticism-in fact, I ask that if you see something wrong with it, please tell me-but hate will be dealt with accordingly. (Which sounds more threatening than it looks. I don't like to get too confrontational online because when I do I am lazy and don't care enough to actually make it worth the effort). **_

_I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy (what tense should I use? -ed?) writing it~_

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Although he wasn't allowed to do so unless he was with an Elder or in the reservation's borders, Sheik worked on his battle training while waiting for someone to enter the graveyard. It wasn't a display of aggression or of strength, as he moved through the _Uirah_ his aunt had drilled into his head, but proof of his blood. Sheikah never trained those not of their number, and it was vital the dead haunting the cemetery understood that he wasn't as much of an intruder as they feared.

It was harder than it usually was, as he was wearing a _heih_ outfit-bandages wrapped tightly around his body, covered by baggy dark-blue pants and a matching shirt, and leather boots. The neckline of his shirt, as always, turned into a cowl-not all Sheikah wore it, and lately masks were preferred by those Sheik's age, but the skill it took to maneuver and balance with the cloth had always appealed to him. His hair, long to signify he had not married, was pulled into a neat, thin braid down the center of his back, bandages tying the strands together tightly with bangs hiding his left eye-a personal preference, nothing more. The only weapons on him were four daggers-one on each arm and leg-and a number of throwing needles secreted away. _Very_ lightly armed, considering he was in what some believed to be the most dangerous place in Hyrule.

He shifted his stance slowly, glancing up through his bangs at the crowd of Poe lights glistening around him. The layer of agony caking everything, the aching of the mourning souls, was suffocating. Their previous caretaker's death was far too fresh in their memory for him to be here, but _Delr_ Midna had been adamant. Power, even his, was meant to be used, and tending to the dead was the only useful thing he could ever do with his.

He'd hoped the _Uirah_ would soothe some of the calmer Poes and reassure the rest of them that he didn't mean them any harm, but it had been over an hour and none of the flames had disappeared. Letting out a soft exhale, he slid out of the stance he was in and closed the _Uirah_, then dropped down beside a nearby gravestone. Bleeding was always the easier option, but the Elders generally frowned upon that and the punishment for anything they deemed radical or unsuitable would be severe-It was a dangerous practice, unless one knew how shallow the cut to the wrists had to be, and too many Sheikah had been lost to it in the past. It didn't help that they didn't like him, either.

Overall, though, the Kakariko graveyard hadn't been too bad. As the only burial place outside the Shadow Temple itself that housed violent spirits, he'd expected a volatile welcome from its inhabitants. With its sprawling grounds-he'd arrived at noon and only covered about a quarter of it, and it was fully dark out now-it held enough spirits to form an army, and souls fickle enough to do so on a whim. And yet none of them had touched him. They'd followed him, to be sure, but the stronger dead-ReDead and Dead Hands and the like-hadn't so much as stirred. The dead didn't know what to make of him yet, and he didn't want to offend them or force them back into slumber, so they simply watched the other, growing accustom to the other's presence.

He ran a hand across the gravestone idly, feeling the weight of the ages in its crumbling material as he sank into it. It was calm here, despite the tension aching in night air, and he found that he liked it.

A grin flickered across his lips, unseen. Elder Midna might have placed him there, but he was excited. It was beyond anything he'd ever have expected, being allowed to tend to the Kakariko graveyard. He almost found himself looking to the future, hopeful as to how this would turn out.

The graveyard had been strategically located, blocked in on three sides by sheer cliff faces that would allow nothing, living or dead, purchase. A massive wall narrowed the fourth side down to a single gate through which things could enter or leave, and his magic encased the entire place, winding through the bindings placed by previous caretakers tightly. Nothing could get in our out, whether it had a heartbeat or not, without his consent. As such, the moment someone approached the gate, he knew.

Poe lights scattered when he moved, pushing himself up. It was late for a Hylian to come, but he was glad for the interruption even if his muscles weren't. It wasn't a long walk to the gate from where he'd been sitting, and the lampposts flanking the entryway came into view shortly, blazing with a harsh light against the dusk of night. He winced inwardly and blinked for a moment, slowing his pace to allow his eyes to adjust. The Hylian waiting for him below the pools of yellow-white light seemed oblivious to its effects. He was around Sheik's age, male, with unkempt dark gold hair and sharp blue eyes that widened upon seeing him.

"Is Dampè alright?"

The question surprised Sheik. Elder Dampè had only been a grave-tender to the Hylians of Kakariko. He hadn't been forbidden from contacting the residents, but it was usually frowned upon. None would mourn his passing outside the Sheikah-but this particular Hylian seemed to have known Elder Dampè, and fairly well, if his reaction was any indication.

Sheik signed regret and sorrow automatically, lips parting to speak, and then remembered to reply in Hylian, not Sheikah.

"I am sorry. Elder Dampè passed the night before the last. If we had known you were close, we would have sent something…" Sheik trailed off, unsure of how to deal with the Hylian's stricken expression. A heavy silence enveloped the both of them, and after a second of it Sheik unlocked the gate and swung it open for him.

"Was it peaceful, at least?" The Hylian finally asked, seeming just as lost as Sheik did.

Sheik visibly hesitated.

"I…believe so. My aunt disagrees."

"How is it a debate?" The Hylian asked, face scrunching up in bewilderment. Sheik wished Marin were there-she knew how to talk to people. He didn't.

"Elder Dampè had been sick for a while. He was tending the dead when they slew him."

"…You do understand what the word 'peaceful' means, right?"

Sheik signed disapproval at the lack of formality in the Hylian's tone absently as he shot the boy a glare.

"Elder Dampè had been caring for this graveyard for almost a century. He belonged to the dead as much as they belonged to him. He hated being weak and his sickness bound him to wasting away bit by bit until he could not control his own body. The dead killed him because they could not bear to see him suffer, which I believe he preferred to the death he had been facing previous. My aunt does not agree with me." He spoke very slowly, struggling to draw the Hylian words out of his memory. He could speak enough of the language to be understood, but he wasn't certain if he had spoken correctly.

The Hylian lifted his hands in a gesture Sheik thought to be surrender, laughing. Sheik felt irritation bubbling with him. His Hylian wasn't _that_ bad, was it?

"It still doesn't sound peaceful, but yeah, I get it. I started coming here a lot after my Grandma died to visit her grave, you know? After a while Dampè started inviting me in to talk…He hated being old." The Hylian said conversationally, striding in. Sheik frowned at him, but closed and locked the gates. The Hylian stopped when he saw the Poe lights.

"What's…?"

"The dead are upset. They lost their..._Sahm_." Sheik let out a noise of irritation as the Hylian word escaped him, drawing a snort of amusement from his companion.

"I will accompany you. I am not sure they will behave." Sheik sighed, giving up on the word. The Hylian nodded, turning to face him with a dramatic flourish.

"I'm Link." He said, sticking his hand out. Sheik blinked at the hand-he _really_ needed to brush up on Hylian customs-and offered a shallow, brief bow. The awkwardness of the movement pained him, and he caught a grin flickering across the Hylian's face.

"I am Sheik."

Amusement clear in his eyes, the Hylian imitated the bow surprisingly well. Link led the way through the graveyard, Sheik content to trail after him. Poe lights spun around them while they walked, familiar enough with Link to ignore him and unfamiliar enough with Sheik to join a long procession. The tension had suddenly broken, but Sheik had no idea why. He would have been worried for Link's safety if he wasn't so comfortable here.

"So why are you here?"

"The Elders placed me here to see how I handle the graveyard." Sheik said softly, holding out a hand to a small purple Poe light. He didn't expect it to actually come to him, but it bounced over to him excitedly and wove its way through his fingertips before settling onto his palm. He reached out with a tendril of magic, gently soothing it, and the amethyst light winked out of existence.

"Did it die?" The Hylian's question surprised Sheik, and he looked up briefly.

"No…it has gone back to sleep." Link seemed to accept this answer fairly easily, for a Hylian. He nodded and turned off of the path they were on. Sheik followed, impressed that the other boy seemed to know where he was going.

"Dampè used to swear at them and occasionally throw things until they disappeared. Once he spent an hour chasing one around with his slinky-shot thingy, which I thought was a pretty stupid idea 'cause you can't actually touch a Poe, but he threatened to hit me with it when I said so. I like your method better. And…this is it." Link said, gesturing with one hand to a rather simple grave tucked carefully against a cliff wall. A scraggly bush sheltered it from the rain. It had been trimmed so that it grew in a hollow alcove around the grave. The job was not the neatest, but there was still a sort of beauty to its functionality.

"Touch the wall or shout if they do anything that they should not, please. They could grow volatile tonight." It was as much a warning of what the Hylian could expect as it was an offer of aide. Sheik received a nod and an amused look for his troubles, another reminder that he would have some studying to do when he got home. In a month he would begin his second _Rheshae_, and the encounter with Link had proven just how lost he was. Maybe Elder Midna would be willing to help him without killing him for asking? He could say a lot of things about her, but she was an excellent teacher. And he knew Impa wouldn't help him…

He wandered off, towards Elder Dampè's former residence. It was a small building that had weathered with time, walls covered in brown vines and brambles, shaded by the skeletal branches of a long-dead tree. Sheik didn't enter it. The key hung around his neck, where Elder Renado had placed it that morning, but he wouldn't put the added stress on the dead, who already saw him as an invader. He rested his back against the wall, gazing out across the cemetery as he slid to the ground. It was growing colder out and already mist was drawing around the edges of his vision, eating away at the graves steadily.

A green flame bounced its way over to him and dropped onto his lap, extinguishing as soon as it touched him. It snatched at his magic the moment it touched him and dropped itself back into the slumber of the dead, startling him. They were _willing _to go to sleep? The mass of them in front of him stopped flickering for a moment-and then they tackled him.

It was like being hit by a crowd of clamoring children, each soul demanding his attention. He scrambled for his power, tugging it free and slowly enveloping each Poe.

He focused on each individual soul for a few moments, learning how their power acted so that he could distinguish it from the others before lulling it to sleep. A rainbow of colors-blue, purple, black, white, yellow, orange, green, pink, red-flared in his vision and vanished when he touched them.

His right hand began to ache, slowly burning until it felt as if it had been thrust into an open flame.

The Poes fled when he jerked his hand to his chest, body convulsing when the pain grew too much. He cursed softly, tugging free the bandages that obscured his marking from the view of others.

The golden triangles burned with radiant light. A cluster of three, edges touching, it was a symbol of the Triforce-possibly the most holy artifact in the entirety of Hyrule. His mark was different, of course. The bottom left triangle, symbolizing Wisdom, was again splintered into three smaller triangles. The top triangle of that fractured third blazed far more brilliantly than the others did.

The pain sank further, searing its way up his arm as he fumbled with the bandages, years of practice the only thing that assured he rebound his mark neatly and as tightly as it should have been. The light was immediately snuffed out-it never glowed beyond his bandages, inscribed as they were with the Sheikah symbol for darkness on the inside. The pain dissipated as well, as he rebound his power along with the symbol-again, because of his aunt's power lingering in the symbols on the cloth. It was a focus he used to draw his magic back under control, and he used it then frantically.

He'd have been killed by now for the mark if it wasn't for her.

He let out an unstable breath, finishing the bindings, and the Poes returned, flickering hesitantly before approaching him again. They were cautious now, upset. They refused to let him sense anything beyond the vague hint of their emotions, and he scowled at them petulantly.

The web he had spread across the graveyard twitched, and he bolted to his feet, stumbling before managing to catch his balance. It wasn't Link-it came from the very back of the cemetery. Inwardly berating himself for his mistake, he strode through the graves.

The Poes bounced into a long, thin line behind him, mischief radiating from all of them. They were entirely at ease with him suddenly, and it worried him. What were they plotting?

They bumped his shoulders, tugged at his braid. One of them nestled into his cowl and remained there, cool and warm at the same time against his throat. His knives slipped out of their hiding places and danced around in the air around his head until he snatched them back.

His mood was light when he reached the source of the breach, three males laughing as they stumbled over graves, knocking down ancient, worn stones.

"-Supposed to see in the dark and stuff. This probably isn't the best way to do this." The speaker was a tall, lanky boy Sheik's age with a tattoo beneath one eye and pale lavender hair tied back into a ponytail. One of the Wind Tribe, if the small eddies of mist swirling around him was any indication. The Poe lights vanished, the specters instead choosing their lightless forms although the one within his cowl still emitted a pale blue light, unseen save for when Sheik tilted his head back and it illuminated his chin. Sheik slowed his gait and kept himself to the shadows while he circled the group.

"He's alone. We don't have a better shot coming up anytime soon." The words were accompanied by a snort from a white-haired Hylian with 'imperious' in every tilt of his face, from the angle of his nose to the ice in his eyes. He was older than the Wind Tribe boy by at least five years and had to be a college student, in the Hylian world.

"Shush. Shadows grow closer." It was the third who spoke, slanted eyes dark grey and skin marked in tattoos the likes of which Sheik hadn't seen in a while. Sheik was impressed that he'd been noticed, and eyed the boy-older than him by two years or so-speculatively as he emerged.

All three stopped and stared at him, the Wind Tribe boy's eyes widening briefly for a moment.

"Found him." The grey-eyed boy said, laughing softly.

Sheik reached out with his magic, searching for how they had gotten into the cemetery-there was no gateway, so magic was the only answer.

The eldest boy sneered at him and raised a hand, his power forming a solid wall against Sheik's. Sheik frowned, and pushed. The wall crumbled immediately, and Sheik caught, for one moment, an echo of decaying power, rotten and sulfurous and toxic, before it faded entirely. He shuddered at the touch, retracting his power and blinking as he focused on the trio before him.

"I ask that you leave now before you wake the dead. I cannot keep them from killing you if they grow enraged, and your trespass is enough to do that." Sheik said softly, bowing slightly to acknowledge their presence. The Wind Tribe boy laughed aloud, eyes widening in mirth.

"We'll be leaving shortly." The Hylian replied, eyes hard with anger as he moved forward. He had offended him by repelling his magic so easily, Sheik realized. The grey-eyed boy did so first, however, and tackled Sheik, glee lightening the shade of his eyes.

Sheik had trained in battle since he was five years old, and had achieved a level of skill that provided a difficult challenge to his aunt, the single most renowned warrior among both Sheikah and Gerudo. And he fell beneath this attack-because the moment the grey-eyed boy made physical contact with him, the dead grew furious, and he would not-_could not_-lose control of his first charge the first day he was caring for it, and because Link was still there, somewhere, and they wouldn't discriminate between enemy and innocent. He thrust all of his focus onto keeping the dead silent.

He was only still for a few moments before he achieved a sort of equilibrium between keeping the dead at bay and focusing on what was going around him, but it was enough for the grey-eyed boy to have knocked the air from his lungs. Sheik reacted instantly, kicking his assailant off of him and rolling to his feet.

Something slammed into his back, sending him crashing into the earth. A shoulder bashed against a gravestone painfully. The Wind Tribe boy was whispering to himself, eyes entirely violet as he waved a hand at Sheik. Another gust of wind, visible with the dead leaves twisting violently through the air, shot towards him. Sheik rolled out of the way, flexing his arm to make certain it was still useable. It hurt, of course, but it obeyed his commands relatively easily enough. The Hylian lifted a hand to the sky-Sheik threw an arm over his eyes as he closed them-and light seared his flesh.

The Sheikah were not made of Shadows and light was not fatal to them-but this was not pure light, holy light. This was corrupt, stained with the same aura of decay he had sensed earlier. Poe lights burst into existence all around them, a maelstrom of burning flames enraged over the poisoning of their home.

Sheik's control splintered, and he threw everything he had into it, letting his body drop to the ground as he fled inward, to his core, and pushed all of his power out. He was putting too much strain on his mind, using all of his magic like this, but he saw no other alternative. Any failure on his part, even under these circumstances, to keep the dead in line would result in harsh punishment from the Elders-and his life was already hanging by a single, fragile thread.

A short, but brutal, beating ensued. Sheik couldn't keep track of the injuries-the dead were furious, their fury lending them power, and he was only just strong enough to keep them all from-

His control splintered again.

"_Iha!" _It was Sheikah for stop, and it was directed at the dead, but there was still a disbelieving laugh from above him somewhere.

_One of them knew Sheikah?_

He was lifted from the ground by his upper arms and they began dragging him. The lack of violence calmed the dead somewhat, allowing him to focus on what was going on around him.

"…-sure?"

"Are you saying you want to back out?" It was the Hylian, his tone dangerous.

"No. I just don't think that this will work the way he thinks it will." The Wind Tribe boy replied, voice even and hard as iron as he dragged Sheik's left arm along.

"The Blood-Eye is conscious, somewhat." The grey-eyed boy, holding his right arm, cautioned. Sheik supposed he should have been angry at the insult-it was an old racial slur most often used by Hylians-but he filed everything he heard away for later instead. His aunt and the other Elders would want to know what it was he heard-and this stranger using a primarily Hylian insult gave more away than the boy thought it did.

"It isn't like he's going to do anything." The Wind Tribe boy snorted.

"For a legendary Sheikah, he was easy to beat." The Hylian replied, kicking Sheik in his stomach. The dead again surged, keeping Sheik's body from automatically curling inward as all of his energy was focused on them for a brief moment.

"His entire being is focused on keeping the spirits from tearing us apart. He was easily defeated because he is trying to save our lives." The grey-eyed boy replied evenly, tone suddenly cold. He sounded almost offended by the Hylian's disregard. The Wind Tribe boy hesitated at that, grip loosening somewhat.

"Vaati, don't let go of him." The grey-eyed boy said softly, too quietly to be heard by the Hylian.

Sheik opened his eyes then, realizing with a start that they had been closed. Blood was trickling down the side of his face, warm and wet. The Poe light tucked in his cowl was still burning, still cold against his skin. The arm the grey-eyed boy was holding felt broken and was being wrenched at an awkward angle. Sharp pain stabbed his chest with every breath he drew in. Yet none of his weapons had been discovered.

He tilted his head up slightly, feeling fog tugging at his brain-he was straining his magic to the point of death, almost, forcing so much power into keeping the dead at bay.

A hand seized his chin, jerking his head up and his cowl down. The Hylian's cold, icy eyes sneered down at him.

"We just need the one eye. We can kill him afterwards. He doesn't care what happens to this one. It's the girl he-" The Hylian's eyes widened and he let go of Sheik as if he was on fire-which, with the single Poe Sheik was unable to control bursting from the cloth that had previously hidden it, it probably looked like he was.

"Osfala are you-?" Vaati released him and jumped to his companion's aide-and Sheik slammed a blade into the grey-eyed boy's leg. He was released and he let himself tumble away from them, pain blinding him briefly. Something tackled him, wrestling him to the ground and then punching him in the jaw as hard as it-probably the boy he'd stabbed-could.

He saw stars-and his head was lifted off of the ground. He caught a blurry glimpse of feral, grinning grey eyes, and his head cracked audibly against a grave. Just before his sight faded, just before he dropped into darkness, he heard a shout, unfamiliar and far more furious than anything he'd ever heard before.

And then the pain blossoming throughout his head took him.

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_Uirah_-A sort of battle dance/form the Sheikah practice, it's just their word for it.

_Sahm_-Father.

_Rheshae_-WILL BE EXPLAINED LATER. (Chapter 3).

ALL ARE SHEIKAH WORDS. I AM MAKING UP A FUCKING LANGUAGE FOR THIS SHIT. IT'S SERIOUS.

...I think that's all the Sheikah in this. So yeah. This is a huge thing. LOL But I've been dying to post this so...This has a fairly complicated plot. Kick ass, if I do say so myself, but you know.

The worst thing about writing villians is that you fall in love with them, then you can't put them in other roles that would fit them perfectly. BUT! Anyway! Thoughts? Anything I did horribly wrong? Horribly right? I had something important to say here, but I'll do that later if I remember...


	2. Chapter 2

Sheik woke to a beeping sound, soft and persistent and unfamiliar. He kept himself still, breathing slowly and evenly as if he was sleeping, and, hesitantly, examined his condition. His magic was tattered and exhausted and weakness pervaded all of his limbs-a sign he had almost killed himself, pushing not just his magic but his life force itself into blocking the dead. First time he'd ever done so. His right arm was in a cast, resting heavily on his chest, and there was something pinching one of his fingertips. His head ached fiercely and his jaw throbbed, and breathing hurt. He was swathed in bandages wrapped nowhere near as neatly as a Sheikah would have done it and his entire body ached-bruises. His mark was covered too, thank Nayru. He could feel the embrace of its bindings on his nearly nonexistent magic.

There was another person in the room, and not a Sheikah, if the sound they made moving in-what? A chair?-was any indication.

His good hand flew to his throat when he remembered the spirit. A startled yelp made him open his eyes even as his fingers encountered bare skin-thank Nayru it was his left arm that he moved, though it still hurt.

A soft fizzling against his fingertips alerted him of the presence of the Poe, and at his touch, it sparked into view, warm blue flames circling his hand as it floated around curiously. He barely noticed, gaze slowly taking in the room he was in and the other occupant of that room.

Vaguely, he recognized the room he was in as a hospital room. The only exits were two windows that couldn't open-he'd have to shatter the glass, although he appeared to be up a few floors-and a door, the glass reinforced with metal mesh. The Hylian wasn't the one that had attacked him-Osfala was his name, wasn't it?-but Sheik recognize him-Link.

"Alright, please, don't dive out the window. You're in the hospital, and the scary lady with the scar is down the hall, and the guys who beat you up are gone. You're safe." Link said slowly, tone calm, as he held palms up, though his eyes were anxious. Sheik stared at him for a second before the Hylian's description of his aunt registered, and he then let the tension in his limbs fade away.

"Did you kill them?" Sheik asked softly, reaching a hand out and grabbing the Poe before it could bother Link. It let out a barely audible squeak as he cupped it in his hand. Link's eyes widened.

"Ki-_No_!" It came out as a yelp. Sheik frowned at him-and then he remembered he was speaking to a Hylian. They never took death as they should and frowned upon killing in general. Not to say the Sheikah _didn't_, but self-defense was another matter entirely.

"I am supposed to believe that you, unarmed, scared them away without spilling blood?" Sheik asked slowly, still not entirely believing Link.

"I used a branch. And, I don't know if this is good or not, but all the Poes tackled them too."

Sheik felt the blood drain from his face. Concern touched Link's eyes, but before he could say anything the door flew open-and a very enraged Impa stalked in. Sheik, for the first time in a long while, felt true terror.

His aunt was intimidating at the best of times. She was built solidly, of medium height and almost entirely muscle. Her eyes were as brilliantly red as his, but a scar ran close to the corner of her left orb, vivid against her pale skin and just as red as her eyes. She wore her white hair cut almost militantly short, and was a master at controlling her emotions, unlike Sheik, so she wore no cowl. She wore clothes more suited to ancient Hylian military than the Sheikah, but none would dare speak against her disregard of tradition. She was the Sage of Shadows, and her power was rivaled only by Sheik's-and that, of course, was accidental. Being so close to her rage, the shadows in the room darkened and lengthened, especially around Sheik. He was a Sageblood, a direct descendent of a Sage, and the blood in his veins carried some of Impa's formidable power. Now, it was fueling her anger, reacting to her emotions-poorly concealed for the first time in _years_.

"They won't release you to us, _helrhnesaht_." His aunt said quietly, voice filled with controlled fury. The use of the Sheikah term for affection let him know she wasn't angry with him-the single most calming thing he had heard in a long while. She punctuated this by running a hand through her hair, signing calm to him when she saw how panicked he was.

"I…How badly did I lose control, _nereih_?" Sheik asked, his voice still unsteady as he slowly relaxed. Link looked between them, expression caught somewhere between dread and confusion.

"They never left the graveyard, and they didn't attack the boy. The little one won't leave you, which seemed to make the others happy, but as soon as you get out you will be taken there. It has been quarantined. Now-" His aunt stopped dead as a frantic flurry of Hylian, spoken too quickly for Sheik to understand it, echoed from outside the room. Her expression again became thunderous as she turned and left, slamming the door shut behind her.

"…Is she going to kill someone?" The Hylian's question, phrased with such trepidation it drew a soft laugh from Sheik, broke the silence.

"No." Link didn't look like he believed him, but nodded anyway. Sheik tried to ignore how exposed he felt, but his eyes continued to drift to the window regardless. The Poe flitted free of his grip and bounced around near the ceiling, small tendrils of flame prodding at every object it came in contact with.

"…So, they found more weapons on you then I've ever seen on one person in my entire life." The Hylian finally said, tone entirely conversational. Sheik's eyes narrowed first, but Link seemed nervous, eyes on the floor rather than Sheik's face. His voice didn't give away any discomfort at the subject of weapons-so why bring it up?

"And..?" Sheik prompted, bewildered as to what direction Link was going in.

"Where were they forged?" It was literally the last question Sheik would have ever expected. He couldn't hide his surprise-_where was his cowl?_

"…There is a blacksmith on the outskirts of Kakariko. Most Sheikah go to him for their weapons. He does not cater to Hylians…" Sheik said quietly, eyeing him questioningly. Link's shoulders drooped and he let out an irritated sigh.

"Damn it. I've been trying to find a good blacksmith for a while. I don't trust anyone selling on the internet enough. It's too expensive, too important."

"A Hylian with such an honest interest in weaponry?" Sheik asked, amused. Link grimaced, but nodded. It _was_an oddity. Save for the dueling that went on in Castle Town every year, Hylians never had cause to even think of touching a weapon. The Sheikah acted as Hyrule's military, protecting the country from any sort of attack.

The door to Sheik's room crashed into the wall, making both of them jump in surprise.

"_Helrhnearih_!" Marin's voice sang as she entered, a flurry of swirling ruby and orange skirts, caramel skin, flaming hair, blood-colored eyes, and the dry, musky scent of the desert. By the time her clothes had settled, the child she'd been carrying in her arms had already begun chanting Sheik's name excitedly.

He smiled softly as she deposited his nephew on his lap, deftly maneuvering the child around his cast and more prominent injuries. Link said something too muffled to be understood and dropped his head into his hands. Sheik frowned, and then laughed aloud when he realized why the tips of Link's ears were a deep red.

Marin, like all Gerudo, wore deeply traditional clothing-millennia had passed and the only thing that had changed were the embroidery, designs, and colors. It was almost entirely translucent and cut provocatively-something Sheik was used to by now, having just spent almost two years living with them for his first _Rheshae_, but something Hylians were uncomfortable with in general.

"And this is...?" Marin prompted, hands on hips as she regarded Link. There was no small degree of wariness in her eyes, but her voice was pleasant enough, Sheik supposed.

"Link, this is my elder sister, Marin, and her son, Ganondorf. _Neleur_, this is Link." Sheik said softly, pushing himself up a little bit. Large rust-colored eyes looked up at him, wide with a solemn sort of awe. Small fingers reached up and poked at a bruise on his chin-smooth, as Sheikah did not grow facial hair like Hylians or Gerudo men did.

Ganondorf was a very archaic Gerudo term for their king. Usually a more socially acceptable name would be chosen until the child was determined fit enough to take the role of king, and they would be known as Ganondorf from that point on. Sheik liked that Marin had named him that from the start, though. Sheik's name was just as ancient, and, of course, his too was a title.

"…Um, hi? Sheik, could you have told me to leave before they came in? I don't want to go on a list of, like, potential threats to the Gerudo king." Sheik's eyes widened in shock, but Marin's laughter cut him off.

"That's the Royal Family of _Hyrule_ you're thinking about, boy. You don't pose enough of a threat to worry about." Marin replied, tone friendly and teasing but not at all joking as she dropped onto the hospital bed, pushing Sheik's legs out of her way, though the protectiveness in her body language didn't disappear.

Sheik couldn't blame her. He did not have friends, and most of his family had declared him _Luihn_, no longer a blood relative. His contact with Hylians was fairly limited as well-he rarely saw any Hylians outside his work at the studio-so Link's presence was doubly suspicious.

"And you're siblings? How does that work? I'm not trying to insult you guys or anything, but…" Link trailed off, blushing more furiously than he had before, eyes refusing to meet either of theirs. Sheik felt a smile touch his lips.

"You are not insulting us. During Marin's _Rheshae_ she chose to join the Gerudo. She completed their Trials and Din claimed her-her blood is Gerudo now, not Sheikah. I chose not to." Link frowned.

"The Goddesses can do that? Just…poof? New DNA?" Sheik blinked at him, uncomprehending, while Marin burst into gales of laughter. Ganondorf let out a squeal as the Poe melted in his small hands, grabbing at it as it slithered through the air.

"Where did you find this one, Sheik?"

"He's the one that…saved my life." He grimaced as he spoke, shame flooding him. He wasn't supposed to _need_ rescuing. Marin's eyes went wide.

"_He's_ the one?"

"Am I in trouble?"

"Come, then. As long as _I_ question you, you aren't in trouble. Sheik, watch Ganon for me. Elder Midna is going to question you personally. Bryne is coming back early too, with Elder Anjean."

For the second time since waking, Sheik's face drained of blood. Link saw it and it only served to make him more nervous, so Sheik struggled to regain his composure.

"...You broke no laws. The attack is just…a matter of concern for the Elders. You witnessed it, and they want to hear your testimony. Thank you for what you've done. Go with Marin. The Elders do not take kindly to outsiders, and even less so those that have any sort of interaction with their matters. Just…guard your words."

"That isn't making me feel any better."

"You'll have to excuse him. He doesn't talk to people."

"Ravio. Hilda. You. Byrne. Ganondorf. And Impa." It was petulant of him, but he glared at her as he wrapped his arms around Ganondorf.

"Impressive. Only one of those isn't family. Now, come on, kid. You do _not_ want to be here when Elder Midna gets here." Marin said, patting Sheik's knee as she bounced up.

"Then I'll see you next week, Sheik."

"They might-"

"I was insinuating I'd break in if they try to ban me." Link said dryly, cutting him off.

"Shout when you do or the dead might attack you." He said quietly, frowning at him as Link flashed a grin and vanished out the door after Marin.

A small hand poked his chest, startling him. His nephew's eyes blinked up at him, the blue Poe hovering with the same intensity beside Ganondorf's head. Sheik sighed and began untangling himself from the Hylian machines.

Impa had mentioned he wasn't allowed to leave, but he doubted Elder Midna would appreciate if he just sat around waiting for her.

He hoisted Ganondorf onto his hip, the little boy clinging to the Poe, and stepped outside of his room. He swayed unsteadily for a moment-the cast was _heavy_, and his headache grew even worse.

"Excuse me-?" He asked, grabbing hold of the arm of a passing nurse, startling her.

"I am sorry, but could you tell me where my belongings are?" She blinked at him uncomprehendingly, then looked at the door behind him, half-open. Understanding suddenly flooded her face.

"Oh, you aren't supposed to leave-"

"Where are my belongings?" Sheik repeated, interrupting her. Ganondorf let out a gurgle and the Poe flitted free of his grip, bursting alight when it spotted the Hylian. She blanched.

"The front desk-"

"_What do you think you're doing_?" Ganondorf let out a squeal, which startled Sheik more than Elder Midna's voice did.

He let out a slow breath and turned to face her, bowing as best he could with a child on his hip.

"You shouldn't be up. You are aware you're injured, correct?"

"Yes, _Delr_ Midna."

"Impa has your things. Why are you carrying a baby?"

"Marin is interrogating. I am watching Ganon for her. I apologize if he causes any sort if inconvenience, _Delr_ Midna."

She was more intimidating than Impa was. She was tall enough to tower over even Gerudo, and had curves that some Gerudo envied. She, like Impa, spat in the face of tradition and wore Gerudo-style clothing, colored in traditional Sheikah colors and emblazoned with the Bleeding Eye. Her flame-colored hair was twisted into a thick braid that ran parallel to her spine, as Sheik's did. There was a permanent expression of contempt in her eyes, and he was greeted with the full force of that as she signed growing irritation to him.

"If the child cries during the questioning…" She left the threat hanging, though both of them knew it was empty. She was not a cruel woman, only practical. She was, perhaps, Sheik's favorite enemy-not that it made him any less scared of her.

"He will behave."

"He'd better. The only reason you're still alive is because your aunt has sworn to break open the Shadow Temple if we kill you. Now come."

She spun on her heel sharply and strode off, leaving Sheik to limp as quickly as he could after her-when had he injured his leg? And had Impa _really_ said that?

"_Sheik_…"

"I am coming, _Delr_ Midna." He squared his shoulders and hurried after her.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

When Sheik was young, he used to toddle his way into Byrne and Marin's room at night and curl up with Marin before falling asleep. Not because he had nightmares, but because he was lonely. Never Byrne-Byrne was many things but he was the first to admit he was not comforting-but Byrne had been the one to rattle off stories or teach Sheik how to disarm an opponent, and because of that he and Marin had become the closest thing to family Sheik ever had.

Their parents had been ideal Sheikah-eleven children, Sheik being the youngest, successful in every mission they were given, powerful, and two of the most respected Elders in all Hyrule. Their home had been teaming with children growing up. Everyone had at least two roommates beside he and Marin, except for Sheik. Sheik had always been isolated-their parents had made sure of it. They had been deeply traditional-believed that Sheik should have died the moment he was born because of the Mark of Wisdom. When Impa fought them on it what had essentially been a political war had broken out amongst the Sheikah, and it had nearly killed Sheik that his parents had sided against him.

Byrne hadn't made things any better. It hadn't a question of whether or not Sheik should die, it had just been whether or not he was a good Sheikah that had bothered Byrne. When their parents died and Malladus took Byrne full time, he had gone two years without any contact with his younger brother. Then Marin had sent a letter demanding he get his ass back to Hyrule, as Impa was trying to adopt Sheik and everything was going to shit. Byrne had indulged her, though Malladus had been pissed about it, and the first thing he'd done to the tiny waif of a child who only just recognized him as his brother was test him.

Despite the fact Sheik had never had any formal training-things were too rocky to assign him a real mentor, so all of the Elders sort of shuffled him about, teaching him a little at a time-he had impressed Byrne. Sheik knew more about the Sheikah way of life and how to handle himself than most children older than him. He _deserved_ to be a Sheikah.

Since, Byrne had tried to make amends for not being there earlier. Sheik was one of the best now, but if Byrne had never abandoned the boy, he could have been _the_ best. The matter of Sheik was the only thing Malladus had agreed with him on without a fight, either-his Elder had watched Sheik's progress enough to be fully impressed. So things had swayed in Sheik's favor, and Impa became his legal guardian, and Sheik befriended Ravio, and Midna began instructing him when Impa or Dampè weren't.

Byrne honestly only wanted his brother safe.

Which was why he was glaring at Marin and fighting back the urge to attack her.

"Are you fucking _insane?_ Do you know who the fuck that kid is?" Her eyes flashed.

"Of course I did! I checked before I brought this up to Midna!"

"_You brought it up to Elder Midna?!"_

"He needs a friend, Byrne! For Nayru's sake, Ravio doesn't even know what his favorite color is and you _know_ Hilda doesn't let him make friends with anyone at the studio! He's sixteen!"

"And _he's_a fucking idol. Do you know how much publicity-"

"I checked that too! He avoids all of it!"

"Marin-"

"And he knows how to fight! Think about it! This kid'll protect Sheik when we can't because we _both_know I can't be his _Nahscliah_ and you'll be too busy with Elder Malladus to be there unless it's necessary. He's already saved Sheik's life once, and they were total strangers!"

"Which makes it even more suspicious! He could have been in on it! He could be hoping you'd be this stupid so that they can launch another attack! And what if the Elders make the decision halfway through this shit? Sheik'll be dead and that kid in there will have a friend who was murdered by his people and no answers! Are you really going to be that cruel to him?" Byrne had to bite back the instinct to apologize for his final words-he really didn't give a shit about the kid, but that just seemed _harsh_, even for Marin.

"I don't give a fuck about the kid! I care about the fact Sheik has _no one_ and never has! If that kid gives him that, then yes, even if he ends up dying at least he'll have had _someone,_ and at least he'll have _lived!_"

"Those kids from Termina-"

"We _both_ know why he hangs out with them and anyway, he only ever talks to them online. They don't count." Byrne was out of arguments, running out of steam, and Marin knew it.

"We'll have to keep an eye on the kid anyway, this way you have an excuse. Sheik won't introduce himself to anyone anyway and you _know_ how badly he needs this. The kid will protect him. And if this doesn't work I won't push it but _please_, Byrne, just give it a chance. All we'll do is switch the school and assign you his _Nahscliah_, and we'll both go in and interrogate the kid."

Byrne knew Marin well enough to know that this wasn't something she would ever let go-and…she was right. Sheik's isolation had always been a matter of concern to him, but no one had thought there was anything to be done about it. Sheik had always been told that befriending someone would be the cruelest possible thing he could do to them, because once someone learned to care for him they would miss him when the Elders finally came to a decision and killed him. Anyone else would have thought it ridiculous and just made a friend by now, but Sheik was so damned cautious the thought had never crossed his mind. Even Girahim bothered Sheik's conscience, and he was Byrne's acquaintance, not Sheik's.

"Please, Byrne. You saw what the Gerudo did for him. He was never as open with anyone as he was when he was in the desert. He was almost _happy_."

"Then he should have left-"

"He _wants_ to do this. Caring for the dead has been his dream since he was little and he loves working at the studio. He wouldn't give that up, especially knowing that Anjean would have his head." The vehemence in Marin's voice wasn't lost on him, and he wisely gave up. Leaving the Sheikah had been hard for her, but she'd had little choice-she saw it as a personal matter and would just get pissed the longer he stuck on that.

And it wasn't like Marin's plan would work, anyway. She would just be putting Sheik in a situation far more dangerous than even the Elders would be willing to put him in. But…Byrne would have an excuse to kill the kid if he _was_ an enemy.

But she was so fanciful, such a dreamer. As if putting Sheik in a more dangerous position with a total stranger and hoping their timid, cautious little brother would gather the courage to speak to that stranger-especially when the stranger had seen him so vulnerable-would bear any fruit. Sheik's gift was the Power of Wisdom, not Courage, and for good reason.

The door behind them opened and Byrne spun quickly, arm snapping out to his side reflexively. A Hylian police officer stood frozen in the doorway, staring at the limb.

Byrne wasn't good with the dead-he was too callous. He'd gone down to the Shadow Temple for his Ceremony, to be accepted as an adult Sheikah, and pissed off everything in it. Being as fickle as they were, they'd ripped off his arm, to Malladus' great amusement. It had been replaced, molding Sheikah magic to Terminian technology, thanks to Malladus. Byrne totally forgot that it wasn't a real arm until moments like that, when a Hylian glared at him or Sheik lectured him on what he'd lost to gain it.

"What?" His Hylian was heavily accented-his argument with Marin had upset him.

"They're…the…uh…the kid's ready for you."

"About time." Marin muttered, pushing past the both of them on her way out of the room. They'd been sitting in a private room at the Kakariko Police Department for the past hour, since he'd arrived. It had been a week since the attack and the kid who'd saved Sheik had been brought in for questioning by the Hylian law enforcement. Byrne had demanded to speak to him-he had the right to-and they'd brought him in again for a third, and final, round of questioning.

That being said, the Elders had no idea he was even in Hyrule. If they found out they'd be pissed. Especially since he wasn't asking them for permission for what he and Marin were about to do. Well, actually, Elder Midna might know-Marin _had_ mentioned her.

The kid looked up when they entered, halfway through raking a gloved hand through his blonde hair. Byrne met his gaze and glared, while Marin chirruped a hello. He sat in a steel chair on one side of a metal table, two empty chairs waiting on their side of it.

"Is he alright?" The kid asked immediately, gaze flinching away from Byrne's and moving to Marin. He was anxious.

"Nah, don't ask questions. Byrne's already angry enough as is. But, yeah, Sheik's fine." Some of the tension in his posture drained away at Marin's conformation, and Byrne felt whatever conviction he'd held that this boy was a part of the attack start to trickle away.

Unless they _hadn't_ been trying to kill Sheik, despite what they'd said to him.

"What's your name?" Byrne growled, glancing away from him, to Marin, as she tugged one of the chairs free of the table and raised a pointed eyebrow at him. He ignored her as she dropped down into it.

"Link Elne."

"What were you doing at the graveyard?"

"Visiting my grandma. I was really late getting there and I was gonna spend the night with her but Dampè wasn't there. And then Sheik told me he was dead."

"You knew Elder Dampè?" He asked the question sharply, taking a step closer to the table. The kid, Link, nodded.

"My grandma died years back, and I visit her whenever I can. I'd take Aryll, my little sister, with me. And Dampè doted on her. And I know that that's against Sheikah rules or whatever but he was family, you know?" The grief in his eyes was palpable, but other than that and the subdued tone of his voice, there were no other visible signs of sorrow.

"Sheik said you weren't too upset about his death." Byrne countered. Link's eyes narrowed, hardened.

"He's not the only family who's died on me, and I try not to bawl in front of strangers. That a crime?" He'd struck a nerve.

"_Byrne…"_

"Listen here, you little fuck. If I don't like what I hear from you, I will kill you. Piss me off and I won't do that nicely." Despite the fact his words were furious, his voice and posture were entirely relaxed. Marin was giving him her best glare-the kid was already upset, making him worry about mixed messages was entirely unnecessary.

Link glared at him, pushing himself more upright in his chair.

"Look, I'd never seen those kids before and I gave the cops as good of a description of what they looked like as I could. There's nothing I haven't already told you." It clearly wasn't what the kid wanted to say, but his tone was civil enough.

"Byrne, sit down." He obeyed Marin without a thought, glancing down at his arm as he did so. The bandages he usually kept wrapped around it were loose-no wonder the Hylian had looked so shocked-and he absently began rewinding them.

An hour passed by, most of which was spent arguing-Byrne telling the kid he didn't believe him when the kid insisted he had nothing to do with the attack, Marin telling him to play nice or the kid to shut the fuck up and listen. Link confirmed everything Byrne had already been told, repeating his same story word for word despite the pressure he was putting on the kid. It ended with an awkward, tense silence, Byrne and Link glaring at one another while Marin let out an occasional dramatic sigh.

Byrne finally broke the silence with a laugh. The kid froze, startled.

"Damn, kid, if I really thought you were a serious threat to Sheik I'd have killed you the day of the attack."

The door opened behind him, and Byrne craned his head around to look. A massive behemoth of a Sheikah pushed his way into the room, ruby eyes narrow.

"Bastard." Malladus' voice was little more than a growl.

"I left a note. Anyway, I'm done. Wrap up, Marin." She kicked him as he stood up-he knew better than to try and avoid it.

"You're babysitting next week. All week. Ganondorf needs to spend some quality time with his other uncle and _I_ have date night. Link, say goodbye to Byrne. Hi, Malladus. How's Anjean?" Link, unsurprisingly, didn't say a word.

"Not dead yet." Malladus grunted, nodding his head to her. Surprisingly, Malladus got along very well with Marin. Better than Byrne got along with him. And Marin _knew_, really genuinely knew, too.

"Aw. Well, behave next week for Ganondorf. And don't be too mad at him, alright?"

"I left a note!" They ignored him.

"Ikana woke last week. That this kid's fault?" Malladus switched to Sheikah, folding his arms across his chest.

"No, if anything the kid's the reason Ikana didn't do more than wake. Sheik got his ass kicked and all of Kakariko about ripped him apart trying to get at his attackers. Shadow Temple's going nuts too-that's why we're here. Impa's been down there three days and all the local Elders are still down there now."

"Anything break free?" Malladus asked, frowning.

"Yeah. The graveyard's a mess. Sheik's still confined to his room, though, so he can't go fix it. Not 'till the Elders can keep the Temple hidden and all that. Dead Hands are banging at the gates and all the Gibdos are howling like it's a fucking full moon. Scared even Midna, and you know how she is…" Marin trailed off, expression grave as she shrugged.

"Anyway, behave _helrhnearih_." She finished, speaking Hylian as she flapped a hand at them. Malladus' gaze met Byrne's when he turned to the door, and Byrne let his shoulders droop as he sighed.

He'd been looking forward to seeing how far Sheik had progressed since his last visit, then sleeping for the foreseeable future. But, no.

To the graveyard they went.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

**HA! I updated BEFORE I said I would, to those of you who I told I would update later! See how your fabulous reviews motivated me?**

**((Actually, this is probably a first. I think I'm stressing 'cause Nano's coming up so quick and I won't be updating then))**

**So some back story and new characters in this fic. Byrne actually didn't swear as much as I thought he would, too. Whatcha think? Anything I'm not making clear enough/need to make clearer?~**


	3. Chapter 3

He was far more nervous than he should have been, and it showed. His fingers kept clenching around his hips, where sheaths would ordinarily be resting, and Sheik's gaze wouldn't focus on any one object-he kept seeking entrances and exits and threats and-

"_Ow!"_ Bryne lowered his arm, offering Sheik the grim sort of smile he was notorious for. Sheik rubbed the back of his head hesitantly, almost expecting to feel blood.

"Stop panicking. You'll be fine."

"This place is _ridiculously_ built. There's no-"

"It's good for you. Easier to escape if a threat charges in. Look on the bright side, Sheik. You'll be going here for two years." Bryne sounded as ridiculously pleased with that as the architecture of the school.

Sheik's shoulders drooped at his older brother's reminder.

"Sadist."

"Maybe."

Bryne was accompanying him as his _Nahscliah_, a sort of guardian charged with keeping a group of Sheikah entering their second _Rheshae_ safe. It was thanks to Impa's string pulling that Bryne had snagged the position. Sheik probably would have needed a _Nahscliah_ to protect him from his _Nahscliah_ if it hadn't have been Bryne, to be honest. It wasn't just the Elders that didn't like him.

"Can't I just skip this? They know I'm going to stay."

"Midna wants to torture you-she insisted. Anjean voted for assassination, if it makes you feel any better. Malladus said they should send you to Ikana." Bryne replied cheerfully. Sheik's eyes went wide.

"That would be like dropping me into the Shadow Temple. Everything would wake." Byrne shot him an amused look, then hurriedly tried to wipe it off his face.

"Which is why we don't let you go to Termina. But I think Malladus could keep you under wraps." As Bryne spoke, he flexed his metal arm-a marvel of what Sheikah could do when they applied their magic to Terminian technology. It was drawing eyes from across the hall, even thought it was mostly empty and it was hidden beneath bandages. Malladus had given it to Bryne when he'd finished his training. It was the sort of gift that wasn't really a gift-Bryne had finally achieved the title of Elder, and Malladus had offered him a chance to go back down the scale, to start from zero again, if Bryne was willing to remain Malladus' apprentice. Bryne hadn't even thought about whether or not to accept it.

"I'd rather apprentice myself to Elder Midna." Sheik replied, halting in front of a door with the room number _H203_ etched onto the side. Bryne laughed at his remark-but it didn't change Sheik's opinion of Malladus.

"Here's your paper-it's got the rooms rewritten in Sheikah, so don't panic. Try not to brag about your illiteracy. I'm going back to the main office. " Bryne yawned, handing him a small, neatly folded square of paper. A ghost of a smile touched Sheik's lips beneath his cowl and he took it, offering a short bow.

"Two years, Sheik. And speak Hylian, for Nayru's sake!" Bryne added the last bit in a hiss as Sheik tugged the door open. His brother's words made Sheik freeze, heart stopping as he realized they had been speaking Sheikah the entire time.

Heads turned to look at him, a sea of strange Hylians who eyed him like Sheikah eyed weapons. It was disconcerting, but not entirely unfamiliar.

He wished wildly that the Elders weren't so determined to see him fail. Eldin Springs was a more prestigious high school than Kakariko High-it was private and hand incredibly high entrance exam standards-but its faculty and students were far less accepting of Sheikah than Kakariko High, the school almost all Sheikah in Kakariko Province were sent to for their second _Rheshae_. Sheik could barely speak Hylian fluently, and they expected him to impress some of the most racist bigots in all Hyrule for _two years_?

_Two years?_

He stepped through the door, grabbing his nerves and shoving them aside as brutally as he could. He heard Bryne humming softly to himself as he walked off, and he hesitantly touched his throat, feeling the soft warmth of the blue Poe beneath his cowl.

It hadn't left his side since the incident a month ago, especially after Byrne had tried to calm down the graveyard-shouting that Sheik wasn't coming back until everything went back to sleep had only panicked them more. He took comfort in its presence then, making certain that it was hidden from view, and masked the movement with a short bow directed at the teacher.

"Ah, come in, come in." The Hylian was ancient, offering him a craggy smile that seemed to be genuine. Sheik closed the door quietly behind him, glancing across the room at the windows. Six of them, lined up on the far wall. Seven rows of desks, five desks deep, between him and the windows. Not all of the desks were filled-only about two thirds.

"I apologize for the interruption." Sheik said softly, meeting the teacher's green eyes.

"No need, no need. Why don't you introduce yourself to the class? They just finished doing so themselves." The Hylian motioned for him to come closer, and not wanting to insult him, Sheik approached until he was an arm's length away-close, to Sheikah meeting strangers. Thankfully, the elderly Hylian seemed to understand and didn't reach out.

Sheik looked out across the group of frantically whispering Hylians, amusement in his eyes as they tried to discreetly point at him.

"I am Sheik of the Sheikah. I am here for my second _Rheshae_. Before anyone asks, no, I am not armed." Sheik said dryly, seeing a handful of hands hedging for the air. The hands disappeared and a scattering of laughter sounded.

He'd remembered some passing comment Impa had made when she'd returned from a trip, that Hylians always expected her to be armed. The fact that she was, she'd snapped when he'd commented on it, had nothing to do with it.

"What's a _rhahshah?"_ Sheik winced at the mispronunciation, but made eye contact with the speaker-a Hylian girl with choppily cut blonde hair.

"_Rheshae_. The life of a Sheikah is not easy. We are given a chance to leave, if we so wish. We spend two years in the desert with the Gerudo, and two years in our home province with the local Hylians. At any point during those years we are allowed to leave."

Eyes grew round. Before anyone could ask any further questions, the teacher laughed, though not meanly.

"Alright, go find a seat-I think there's an empty one next to Ashei." Sheik blinked at the blue-haired Hylian girl that half-heartedly waved a hand, and let out a slow breath as he wove through the desks, dropping down into the empty seat. Some of his anxiety melted.

This wasn't _so _bad, he supposed.

"You'll be sitting there for the rest of the year. Now, if you haven't already read your schedule, this is Advanced Magic. I'll pass out permission slips on your way out, which your guardians need to sign before you can begin classes-what you'll learn here might kill you. Now talk amongst yourself, and don't bother the new student, until the bell rings. Keep the volume down!" The last was a shout, and in vain, as an eruption of chatter began immediately. It made him feel small, how late he was to this class and how quickly they had already progressed.

The blue-haired girl turned to him after enough time had passed to make him acutely aware of the stares-intentional, if Sheik had to guess.

"Are you a duelist?" She asked, voice curt, but not exactly unfriendly. He stared at her helplessly, signing confusion before mentally smacking himself.

"I do not know what it is you are asking."

"Eldin Springs is huge on dueling-magic, weapon, debate, whatever. Most students who go here do so too, yeah? We've got some of the top duelists in the world here, and we've got tons of awards-didn't you see them by the office when you came in? Are you dueling?" She sounded eager. Looking for a challenge, Sheik supposed. Sheik laughed, not meanly. Her accent placed her somewhere north of the Zora's Domain, telling him she wasn't a native to Hyrule, though she _was_ Hylian.

"No, and I do not think it would be fair of me to do so."

"Cocky, yeah?" She asked, arching an eyebrow, though her eyes lit up.

"I have been training in battle since I could walk. I am not an expert on Hylian culture but I do not believe you do the same." He spoke quietly, but some of the others sitting around him could still hear his words, and made it known by inching away, exchanging looks.

He hoped Ravio was getting along better than he was.

She laid her palms flat against her desk, visibly struggling with a sudden burst of excitement. It startled him, until he realized she was probably a duelist as well.

"Will you duel me?"

"I cannot."

"How come?!" She demanded, protest written clearly in her expression. He signed an apology.

"It is forbidden. If you ask Ravio he may duel you, but I do not know where he is."

"Who's he?" She asked, brightening considerably as she turned so she faced him fully.

"My cousin's _tyah._ They are both here for their _Rheshae_ as well."

"Really? So it's kinda like a fieldtrip, yeah? Do you know how I can find him? He's a good duelist, right? Not just some punk?" Sheik laughed softly, signing amusement.

"My brother, Byrne, is in the main office. He should know. He may be…difficult. But, yes, Ravio is a skilled fighter. He usually fights with a…battle partner, I believe you call it, so one-on-one will be a little out of his element." A grin, slow and satisfied, worked its way across her face. Sheik realized he may have worded that incorrectly. Ravio could probably beat the girl senseless without really trying even without Hilda, if Byrne's opinion of Hylians and their fighting prowess was correct.

"So, the office, yeah? Didn't really want to go to second hour anyway. Got Auru for Bio, and he's a bit harsh, yeah?" She said it conspiratorially, and leaned back in her seat.

"You got any dueling classes, though?" Sheik nodded.

"At the end of the day." He absently pulled out his schedule and smoothed it down, gaze flicking down to the paper as one hand covered Byrne's messy scrawl.

"Ah, Grayblade? You don't know what you're getting yourself into, do you Sheikah?" She said, laughing. He signed helpless confusion to her, alarmed by her response.

"Sorry. Grayblade's got issues with the Sheikah, has for a while. He wants to be the best, and the Sheikah don't train outsiders, yeah? He'll be unfair with you. Hope you get yourself a good partner, 'cause you'll need it." There was a sympathy in her eyes that didn't touch her words, and Sheik forced himself to calm down. He was getting too worked up over her words.

"Should introduce myself, huh? You're name was Sheik, yeah? I'm Ashei. Training to join the Zora Guard up in Snowpeak." Sheik blinked, then smiled warmly, a true smile. _That_ was where she was from. A friend of Ruto's, then. Ruto never let a prospective Guard go long without knowing her well. They would, after all, be protecting her borders. He almost asked about her, but caught himself just in time. It would raise too many questions.

"What do you fight with? I like rapiers, but up in Snowpeak explosives work best." She mimed an explosion with her hands, flashing him a grin.

"I have been trained in all forms of combat." It didn't mean he was proficient in any or all of them, but Sheik had working knowledge of most weapons. His words were chosen carefully-like all Sheikah he had created his own 'style', picking and choosing the things he was best at and melding them together. His just happened to be more nonsensical than others-even Ravio considered it ridiculous, though he still beat the other boy easily. Ashei smirked, apparently catching the way he'd worded it.

A sharp ringing echoed throughout the room, startling him, and Ashei let out an explosive sigh as she stood up.

"That's the bell, yeah? I'll go find your buddy, then. Thanks! Good luck with the rest of your classes." The last was added as an afterthought, and she swept from the room quickly. Sheik folded his schedule up with a soft smile, tucking it away. He'd no idea where his next class was, but Ashei had soothed a number of his concerns. Not everyone would be as friendly as she was, but at least not everyone wanted to kill him.

It was sort of weird, honestly.

He slipped out of the classroom behind the rest of the class, offering a short bow to the teacher, and ghosted his way along the halls as he sought a room that would look like that he searched for-whatever it looked like. A second bell rang out, faster and brighter than the first, and Sheik gave up with an explosive sigh as students emptied from the hall as if by magic, the rush of noise tapering away.

He turned a corner, muttering something Byrne would have hit him for in Sheikah-

-he hit someone.

"_Theh_." Sheik signed an apology as he stumbled back a step, startled, and froze.

The Hylian he'd run into-what was his name again?-looked at him for a moment before suddenly grinning.

"I heard we were gonna get some Sheikah students this year, but I didn't think you'd be one of them. Are you alright being out of a cast and all that?" He asked curiously, glancing at Sheik's arm-very much not encased in plaster. Sheik shrugged-his name had been Link, hadn't it?

"The Sheikah use magic to heal unless there are complications. There were none." Besides being grounded for letting everything in the entire graveyard loose, that was. Most of the last month had been spent putting everything to rest and assuring the dead that he was fine, with Malladus glowering over his shoulder. This _Rheshae _had almost been a relief, to get away from the Elder-and Byrne. Byrne had tried, and failed, to calm the dead down by traditional means with Malladus while Sheik was healing, and so he'd resorted to telling them stories about Sheik when he was little. Telling everyone within earshot anything and everything about Sheik's childhood had become his latest hobby, and Sheik hated it.

"Doesn't that mess with the bones or whatnot, though? I thought the more you use magic to heal the higher your tolerance grows."

_Shit_. Sheik signed discomfort and mentally apologized to Elder Midna, and shrugged.

"You attend school here?" Marin was right-he had _no_ social skills. Amusement lit the Hylian's face, but Link went along with Sheiks entirely translucent change in conversation.

"So do you believe me about the branch thing yet?" Sheik stared at him blankly.

"…I do not know what you are talking about." Link rolled his eyes.

"I said I chased those guys off with a branch. I duel here-if I _hadn't_ been able to do that Grayblade would have my head on a platter."

"You duel?" Sheik couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice, and he ducked his head and flushed when it came out far more prominent than he'd thought it would.

"Are you trying to offend me?"

"What-No-!" His head snapped up, horrified.

""Oh, jeez, calm down-I'm joking. I know you're not, it's alright!" Link looked panicked. Unsure as to what to do, Sheik squeezed his eyes shut and let out a sigh, sagging against the wall behind him.

"Anyway, why is that so surprising? Are you calling me out of shape or something?" There was a teasing note in Link's voice.

"_No!"_ Sheik burst out laughing as he shook his head. A second bell rang out, longer and slower than the second, and an expression of absolute terror overtook the Hylian's face.

"Please tell me I can show you around?"

"I barely know where the office is." Sheik deadpanned. A grin flickered across Link's face, relieved, and he held out a hand.

"Is it alright if I see your schedule then?" Sheik hesitated a moment, but produced the somewhat crumbled square of paper. Link snatched it from him like a child would candy and unfolded it. His eyes lighted on the Sheikah scrawl besides the printed words, but he said nothing and his eyes moved on almost immediately-a relief for Sheik.

"…Auru with Bio for second hour? I've got that too. Charlo with Religious History for third…Well, Shad might have that. Embrose with strings for fourth, we have the same lunch and we both have Potho for Compositions at fifth hour….Why do you have Geometry?" Sheik, again, flushed.

"My elder brother signed me up for classes. I had no say in the matter." Math wasn't his strong suite, but he was fairly certain Bryne had signed him up for it as a mercy-Sheik had already taken a similar lesson beneath Impa the year before and passed, so it would be little more than review. He signed defensiveness, bewilderment, and Link eyed him curiously for a moment before shrugging.

"We can go to the office and get your class switched so you can get something fun. And seventh hour-Grayblade with Advanced Weaponry! Hey, you're dueling too?"

"I am not. I am interested in how Hylians learn to wield their weapons." He said softly, shrugging his shoulders. Link stared at him, amusement lighting his eyes to a paler shade of blue.

"Cool. I've got that class with you too. Do you know anybody in your other classes?" Sheik nodded.

"Hilda is in my Religious History and both he and my cousin are in my Compositions class. And a girl, Ashei, said she had my Biology class as well."

"Who's Ravio? Oh, never mind. Another Sheikah, right? And you've met Ashei already? I'm sorry. She's kind of…well, blunt would be putting it lightly." Link rubbed the back of his head as he flashed a sheepish grin.

"Are you related?"

"No, but she's…well, _close_, to my…friend. They grew up together, so we sort of hang out a bit. She gets overwhelming, and she's been dying to fight one of you." It was said apologetically, and Sheik tilted his head curiously. He hadn't gotten that from his meeting with Ashei.

"Well, anyway, follow me. I'll find you a map at lunch-this place is huge. I've been going here since middle school and I still have absolutely no idea where half the rooms are. It's awesome when we play hide-and-seek, though 'cause Shad can do finding spells but not tracking spells and I just run around the place until I get lost and need him to come find me." Link turned and began walking away as he rambled, and Sheik followed, content to listen to him talk.

"So how've you been doing since the attack? The graveyard's been totally shut down since, and the guy with the metal arm chased me out when I went to visit. You're alright?" Sheik stumbled, surprised.

"Byrne..? The bastard…I am sorry. He has been as annoying as he possibly can be, lately. The cemetery was only closed for a week." Sheik flushed again when the Hylian turned and gave him a startled look at his language-it wasn't that Sheik _didn't_ swear, he just didn't do it _often_, and never when he wasn't annoyed.

"So you two are close?"

"He is my older brother." Link stumbled to a halt, then suddenly laughed as he resumed walking.

"That actually explains a lot. He really cares about you, you know that?" Sheik stared at him blankly-when had Byrne talked to-?

Oh. Marin must have gone with him to interrogate Link a second time.

Sheik let out a noncommittal sound and Link finally came to a stop beside a door, gesturing dramatically to it.

"This is the Bio room. Auru is terrifying, and we're screwed because we're like, five minutes late, and-" Sheik tugged open the door and nudged Link in ahead of him. Link let out a squeak, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room.

The biology room was larger than the first classroom had been, filled with tables with sinks and faucets built into their surfaces, each occupied by three students hunched over metal stools. Various scientific apparatus he had no names for or ideas as to their purpose cluttered the walls-all of it windowless-and florescent lights blazed from above. An elderly Hylian eyed them irritably from in front of a chalkboard.

"I was showing Sheik around, I swear-"

"Sit down, master Link, I don't care. I'll let you off this once, being the generous man I am. Sheik, is it? The only open seats are with Shad in the back. Welcome to Eldin Springs. I am Professor Auru." Sheik decided that he liked this teacher, and he offered the man a short bow before following Link to the back of the class. The only table with two spots open was occupied by a tall, lanky Hylian boy with a shock of auburn hair and glasses. Shad, Sheik assumed.

"Was he actually showing you around?" The boy asked, once Sheik had sat down. He nodded, amused.

"Hi, Shad." Link droned, slumping onto the other empty stool. Sheik cast an uncomfortable look around-there were no entrances or exits to the entire room, besides the one door they'd entered. Not even any windows.

"I am Sheik. You are Shad?" The boy nodded, adjusting his glasses as Sheik signed a greeting.

"Um, yeah. Do…Uh, do you have a last name or do I just call you-?" Sheiks' eyes widened a fraction and he violently shook his head.

"Ah, Sageblood. My aunt…" He trailed off, tugging his cowl up nervously. To his surprise, the boy just grinned.

"Cool. So your house must be fun when _Lahvyrraen_ rolls around. That's like in, what, two months?" Sheik let out a startled burst of laughter, more at Shad's correct pronunciation of the word than the fact he knew about the Sheikah holiday. The tension lingering around Sheik vanished.

"Your Sheikah…?" He inquired.

"I study history. And languages are fun to learn-I'm rusty and learned online via someone who wasn't supposed to tell me, though."

"I'm lost." Link declared, blinking at the two of them curiously.

"Sheikah aren't allowed to teach outsiders anything. Technically. There are ways around it." Shad replied.

"….Alright, so Shad knows stuff he shouldn't and there _is_ a legitimate reason as to why I'm scared of your aunt. So did we miss anything important?" It was startling how quickly Link moved on, but it was refreshing, to be entirely honest. Sheik eyed him curiously.

"Uh, we're stuck together all year long. Today's a free day. We're expected to know what we're doing and what we're going to do and the rules. And we're not supposed to bother Sheik." Shad added, pointing at him. Link brightened.

"That's great. So, basically, don't kill, maim, set someone on fire, use magic, or vomit. Be here on time, take your own notes, there are no books, and don't annoy Auru too much." Link added, glancing furtively at the teacher.

"Link, leave him alone."

"Shad, I love the old guy too, but he's scary as fuck. You don't mess with Auru. Which is advice to live on, by the way, Sheik." Sheik tilted his head curiously.

"Are you related to the professor?" Shad nodded, face turning a brilliant shade of red.

"He's my grandfather. He isn't really one for biology-last teacher quit last minute and they stuck him on this position because there wasn't anyone else qualified."

"Auru teaches history too. You should try listening to them have a conversation." Link said, laughing.

"So what classes do you have after this?" Shad asked both of them, rolling his eyes at Link. Link pulled out a crumpled was of paper and dropped it dramatically into the center of the table. Sheik made no move to follow suite, and both of them looked at him curiously. He smiled and signed an apology.

"You study languages. My schedule is rewritten in Sheikah." Shad shrugged and began prodding at Link's paper.

"I read it. Not the Sheikah stuff but the Hylian stuff. He's got Charlo next hour, then Embrose, then lunch, then Potho, then Dina for Geometry-but hopefully not for long-then Grayblade with me. I've got Grayblade all day except for sixth hour 'cause I've got Algebra Two with Dina and this hour and Potho. Took all my other necessary stuff over the summer!" Link chirruped, stretching his arms. Shad brightened.

"I've got Charlo with you next hour, Sheik, and we all have Potho. I've got Link's math class too. How many Grayblade classes are you taking, Link?" Shad asked reproachfully.

"All of them!" Link grinned. He sounded ridiculously pleased by the statement.

"This Grayblade, then, is a…hard teacher?" Sheik asked hesitantly, glancing at Shad.

"He likes Link 'cause he's the best, but he's gonna hate you. He's racist and he has a long history of issues with the Sheikah. He loathes the idea of you guys coming here, and hates it when people show him up if he doesn't like them. Be careful-like, very much extremely so. Link might be able to buffer him or something, maybe." Shad's voice was tentative and his gaze hesitant as it flickered to Link briefly.

"Yeah. Don't think you'll need it." Link added, offering Sheik a tight, small sort of smile.

"So how long are you going to be going here?" Sheik looked away from Link, to Shad, surprised by the subject change. It must have been an uncomfortable subject for Link, Sheik realized.

"Two years." Sheik hummed.

"So you'll be graduating with us?" Link asked him curiously.

"Yes. We take lessons from our guardians-ah, homeschooled, you call it, correct? This is for the cultural experience, to give us a chance to leave the Sheikah if we want to." Sheik shrugged.

"Do we really have that much of a culture?" Link asked, sounded bemused. Sheik eyed him curiously, frowning.

"Of course."

"Is it really that dangerous, though?" Shad asked softly, and Sheik looked at him seriously.

"The average lifespan of a Hylian is, what, seventy? Sheikah are incredibly lucky if we live to our thirties. Being a Sheikah is not something you are born into. It requires commitment. When a Sheikah swears their oath, they are literally dedicating their life to protecting Hyrule. So we are given the option to leave, to find something elsewhere. Two years with the Gerudo, where most of us go, and two years with the Hylians."

"How many leave for us?" Shad asked, curiously. Sheik shrugged.

"Please do not take this the wrong way, but it is considered a great dishonor to leave during our Hylian _Rheshae_."

"So we suck?"

"Of course we do. We're like the kids of Hyrule." Shad snorted.

"And that makes the Sheikah what? Our babysitters?"

"Mm-hm."

"That's not fair."

"It isn't _technically_ our fault. Hyrule shares it borders with a country on nearly every side, and our treaties dissolved any military force 'cept for the Royal Guard. The Sheikah act in their stead-a loophole, basically. And the Zora guard Snowpeak 'cause that's in their territory, so…" Shad trailed off, shrugging. Link rolled his eyes at him, and Sheik eyed him curiously.

"So Sheik met Ashei." Link drawled, abruptly changing the subject.

"Did she try to get you to-" Shad's eyes focused on something behind him, as he trailed off, and Sheik automatically flinched as hands dropped onto his shoulders.

"I'm going to kill you, my dear _vraterhn_." Hilda crooned, voice pleasant, but her fingers dug deeply into his flesh. He shrugged out of her grip, turning to face her. It was a struggle to keep his composure, from flinching at the face of Hilda's rage.

"Was he hurt?"

"That's beside the point." She said, scowling. Strands of her hair had come loose from its bun-like her mother, Hilda forsook traditional style and wore her long hair up. She kept it unbraided, to signify her engagement, and wore a _heih _outfit colored a dark purple, the same as her hair. Sheik had made the mistake of teasing her about it that morning-at least he had the sense to wear a dark blue shirt and brown pants-and she'd tried to beat him senseless.

"Did he hurt her?"

"_Sheik_-"

"Ravio is fine. He was probably more excited about it than she was."

"Fuck yeah I was! She almost kicked my ass 'fore I realized she was serious!" Ravio slammed into the table beside Sheik with a grunt of pain, then scrambled to sit on top of it and began kicking his legs idly. He almost hit Shad in the process, who frantically scooted his stool closer to Link to avoid being struck.

Ravio was more excited than Sheik had thought he'd be, which was saying something. Hilda folded her arms over her chest and glared at the both of them.

"I could not duel her. She wanted a fight, and Ravio loves challenges."

"C'mon, _tyae-"_

_"_No."

"She's just jealous 'cause you didn't tell the chick to fight her." Ravio drawled, folding his arms behind his head as he grinned widely at Hilda. He was a thin, wiry boy of fifteen-a year younger than Sheik and Hilda-with a shock of black hair pulled into a ponytail. His ruby eyes were bright with excitement. Ravio had always been _far_ more energetic than most Sheikah, unable to keep himself still or keep his emotions hidden. He didn't wear a cowl because the Elders had given up on him, not because he'd mastered anything.

Truthfully, he used to be worse. He'd been shunned from the Sheikah because of his behavior just as badly as Sheik had been shunned for what he was. That, coupled with Ravio's inherent friendliness, had all but ensured their friendship from the start. He had taught Sheik how to act around others and Sheik had taught Ravio how to control his impulses, direct his energy so that he was in charge of himself. Now, Midna could tolerate him-an incredibly good thing, considering she was Ravio's mentor.

Sheik let out a snort of amusement, and turned to face the Hylians behind him.

"Link, Shad, this is my cousin, Hilda, and…Ravio."

"Oh come on! I deserve a better introduction than that!"

Sheik stood and pulled his stool closer to Link, giving the two of them room to sit as he signed a fairly rude gesture to Ravio. The younger boy responded by hurtling something at Sheik. Hilda caught it before it could hit him and bopped Ravio upside the head with it, scowling. Briefly, Sheik entertained the idea of asking what it was, but decided against it.

The entire classroom had disintegrated into chaos, with kids yelling at one another or tossing things around the room. Hilda and Ravio's entrance had been entirely unnoticed.

Ravio opened his mouth to respond, then his gaze fell on Link, and his eyes went wide. Puzzled, Sheik glanced between them-and then let out an exclamation of shock.

He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed it before-how any of them hadn't noticed it before-but Link had a striking resemblance to Ravio. They had different hair and eye colors, and Link had a more angular build as well as a tan and was taller, but it was still prevalent.

Really. He was supposed to be a Sheikah. How in Nayru's name had he _not_ noticed it? Especially with the consequences-Impa was going to _kill_ him.

"Holy shit, Hilda, look at that! We're fucking identical!"

"You're-"

"I know but that's not supposed to carry over to second gen! Shit, Midna's gonna flip her _balls_ when we tell her!" Ravio had the intelligence to say _that_ it in Sheikah, at least.

"We are not telling _Delr_ Midna!"

"Ravio!" Hilda's yelp sent the boy tumbling from the table. Sheik glanced at Shad, and saw the boy was doubled over with laughter. Link looked at him, bewildered.

"How in the Dark Realm-Sheik?!" Sheik let out a slow breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's just a coincidence. You two might be related somewhere down the line-Ravio's dad was an immigrant from Din-knows-where." Hilda cut in smoothly, waving a hand in an awkward attempt at mimicking a Hylian gesture. Sheik coughed, trying to disguise his laughter. Hilda rarely did anything less than perfectly, but this was definitely one of them. She glared at him, but said nothing.

"That's total-!"

"Link, the only thing you have in common with Ravio is his looks, and as terrible as _that_ is, I promise that that is it." Sheik said it quietly, but he said it firmly as he met Link's gaze. The emotion in the Hylian's eyes, anger over Hilda's translucent attempt at changing the subject and fear, panic, over what this meant, still lingered, but Link calmed down-if only a little.

"Jerk. Hey, do you know when lunch is 'cause-_Hey_!" Ravio tackled Sheik, tugging his cowl off in the process, and a small blue Poe flitted its way out of his cowl excitedly, bouncing around the air around them .

"No fair! I can't bring Sheerow but Sheik can bring his-"

"Oh, hey! I remember you!" Link chirruped, thoroughly distracted by the appearance of the Poe. It bounced over to Shad and hovered around him curiously for a moment, then hurtled itself at Link, burying itself in his hair.

"Sheik-!"

"It is fine. It just…likes you." Hilda was staring at Link with that look she often got when she thought Sheik wasn't looking, trying to puzzle him out. Sheik reached over and prodded the Poe with his fingertips, lips twitching into a smile at its cool burn. Its contentment radiated strongly enough that even a Hylian could feel it, and Sheik studied it curiously. What had it been in life, _who_ had it been in life?

It registered that Link was staring at him a second later, and he managed not to blush as he dropped his hand and pulled his cowl back up, though he shot Ravio a dark glare. Ravio stuck his tongue out at him and hopped off the table.

"So we got this class with you, and you've got Hilda's class next hour. We all share lunch, too. I'm gonna hang out with you at the graveyard tonight. Is that okay?" Ravio asked, leaning an arm against Hilda's shoulder. Sheik nodded slowly. He'd only be there a few hours before going home, but Ravio was never much of a nuisance unless they went to the Fire Temple.

"Cool. I'm gonna go bug Byrne. See you later, _vraimhe. _Nice to meet you two. Take care of Sheik for us, 'kay?" Ravio offered a short wave as he grinned at them, then bounded off. Hilda rolled her eyes.

"He's going to get himself into trouble."

"He is excited. And so are you, _nezhatehrn_. Enjoy yourself." Her gaze refused to meet his, but she let out an explosive sigh and followed him.

"…So that was your family?" Shad asked it hesitantly, and Sheik smiled briefly as he turned to face him, nodding.

"Well, I hope this is all the crazy that's gonna happen today, because I can't handle any more of it without my head imploding or something." Link sighed, cupping his hands. Sheik glanced at him curiously-the Poe was wrapping tendrils of flame around Link's fingertips shyly.

"So are you nervous, Sheik?" Shad asked, pushing his glasses up absently.

"For?" He asked, signing surprise.

"Classes, people, that stuff? It has to be overwhelming…"

"Oh. No, not overwhelming. But it is hard."

Link blinked at him, attention abandoning the Poe.

"How so?"

"Sheikah culture revolves around combat. We are always fighting something. The Gerudo are also a race of warriors. The biggest things to adjust to when we go to the Desert are the climate and their religious beliefs. Hylians are different. You do not fight, save dueling, and that is relatively new. You are a fairly peaceful race. Here, we must adjust to the social aspects. It is uncomfortable. I do not…ah, socialize well." He failed to explain it the way that he'd wanted to, but Link nodded, seeming to understand what he had intended to say.

"Well, I bet we'd say the same of the Sheikah. Ceres went to Termina last year over the summer and came back talking about how different things are there, and they're probably the closest race culturally to us." Link said, shrugging. Sheik signed amusement.

"You would be surprised. We believe in the Goddesses and the Triforce. Termina believes in _a_ Goddess and a male deity. They recognize the Triforce as a powerful artifact but do not recognize its holiness. And their artifacts carry a destructive force more powerful than any single shard of the Triforce ever could. Such a challenge to one's beliefs could easily startle anyone." Sheik shrugged. Shad nodded empathetically.

"Yeah. Majora, and they don't have a name for the male deity. He's just supposed to stop Majora, keep her reigned in when she goes too crazy. Termina's our first unit in religious history." Shad interjected, flashing Sheik a grin. Sheik found a half smile on his lips before he realized what he was doing.

Maybe this _Rheshae_ wouldn't be as bad as he feared.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Sheik popped the top back onto Link's highlighter and handed it back to him, brow furrowed as he stared at the paper in front of him.

"…Is this all of it?"

"Uh-huh." Link nodded into his chin, flashing Sheik a grin when the Sheikah looked up, single visible eye clouded in thought.

Link was not entirely sure what to make of him. Sheik was new, and new was _very_ good, but Link barely knew him. Sheik was quiet, but when he spoke it was just forceful enough to make it clear that he wasn't timid. He was polite, nice, but distant. He seemed vaguely awkward around people, but it was almost unnoticeable, especially in the way that he'd known exactly what to say to calm Link down earlier, when Link had seen the other Sheikah who'd looked like him. He moved very deliberately, gracefully, and he sat completely still as stone when he stopped moving, except when he spoke. When he spoke he'd make slight adjustments, tilting his head or body a miniscule amount and his long fingers would flit about, sweeping up or down or to the side or curling like he was trying to use a strange sort of sign language, the navy bandages wrapped around each finger making the movement all the more noticeable. Link didn't know if it was a Sheikah sign language or if it was just a nervous tick, but it confused him. Sheik's face was almost entirely hidden-his bangs covered his right eye and the cloth covered the lower part of his face, leaving only one eye clear. He hadn't seemed to care when it was pulled down, but Link was scared to ask-he didn't know if it would cross some sort of line or not, and he was desperate not to do that.

He _wanted_ Sheik to like him, to be friends with him. He was sick of wandering around alone, because he hated being a burden on Shad, especially with all that had happened, and no one else bothered with him-out of intimidation or fear or disgust or whatever. Sheik didn't have any of that attached to him. It was as much of a fresh start Link would ever get.

The two of them were sitting in the courtyard at an abandoned picnic table, alone. Link had gotten Sheik a map and shown him the quickest ways to get to his classes and every other area he'd need to be able to find. Link had eaten while they'd wandered-than Farore for subs and water bottles-and Sheik had said he was fine.

"Sorry for all the stares." Link said, sighing as he dropped the highlighter into his pocket. Sheik's gaze flicked to the other students in the courtyard, many of whom were watching them and indiscreetly whispering to one another. The corners of Sheik's eyes crinkled.

"Why are _you_ sorry, Link? It is not your fault." Link felt the tips of his ears burn and his eyes widened-did Sheik _really_ not know?

"It, ah, kind of is 'cause of the Tournament and stuff."

"The…what?" Sheik's fingers moved again, and he tilted his head down slightly.

"Tournaments? Ah, the big competitions in Castle Town every year? There's one for magic, debate, one for weaponry, and I think there's some other little ones. All the schools and organizations in Hyrule like this, that focus on combat, send their top five students in each category every year. There's a ton of scholarships and money and jobs and stuff on the line for it too, so…" Link trailed off when Sheik's eyes lit with understanding, and his hands moved in a slightly more dramatic manner for a moment.

"Ah, yes. My aunt attends them yearly to judge which contestants make it to the Royal Guard."

_Then why didn't he…?_

"Have you ever been to one?" It came out a little slower than Link had hoped, making it sound almost suspicious. His ears reddened again, but Sheik didn't seem to notice.

"No. I prefer working at the studio, and Impa enjoys spending time in Castle Town, so she usually stays for a long period of time."

"Oh, well, that explains it. You'll have to come this year with us. Shad always gets to the debate and magic ones-he's pretty damn good, usually gets top twenty, even got top ten last year. Nationally, not just in the school, I mean. I get the weaponry tournament. Made top three first year and got first last three years. I mean, they've got divisions based on size, skill, and age, so it wasn't like I was the only winner, but…" He trailed off, rubbing the back of his head nervously. He really hated telling people about it-he took it for granted that ninety-eight percent of the Hylians he encountered knew who he was. Dueling was the most popular sport in all of Hyrule, and the attention Link had garnered because of his performance in it made him incredibly nervous. He had as little to do with it as possible, but he could only avoid so much of it, and the way people treated him because of it was something he absolutely _loathed_.

Sheik surprised him, suddenly bursting into a gale of laughter. He looked mortified, and dropped his head into his hands, but his shoulder shook as he tried to regain control of himself.

"Are you alright?"

"I apologize, I just-" Sheik dissolved into laughter, unable to continue.

"What?!"

"I do not know the word for it in Hylian. It is _diih_…" He managed to get a hold of himself and looked up at Link, then promptly burst into laughter again.

"I feel like I should be insulted." Link said dryly, folding his arms across his chest. And he _did_, but he found, for some strange reason, that he wasn't. Sheik didn't mean it meanly, whatever it was he meant.

"I am sorry."

"No, no, don't apologize on my account. I'll just have to be your partner in Grayblade's class." Sheik blinked at him, slowly, then tilted his head to the side. The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly.

"Do you understand what that would entail, Link? You sound as if you enjoy dueling. We would never duel in front of the class, only in a private chamber, even for practice. It was not taken well when I asked to take this class, and so all measures possible have been taken to ensure I do not…inadvertently show anyone anything that they should not see. I do not want to, ah…" Sheik let out a noise of frustration, and Link watched, entranced, as his fingers moved again, sweeping through the air agitatedly.

"No, that's fine. I don't care. Just…don't go easy on me. I promise I can take it, alright? Most people don't even ask me to duel 'cause of the tournament stuff. I usually get stuck with Grayblade as my partner all year and that always sucks-he's there to teach, not to fight just to fight."

"You keep at it, though." Sheik replied softly, eyes serious. Link nodded.

"Yeah. I love doing it, it's a lot of fun. Grayblade's only got a little bit more to teach me that I'm interested in, though, and the only place I could go from here would be to join the Royal Guard and I don't really want to do that." Sheik didn't reply immediately, gaze distant as he stared at the tabletop for a moment. Link didn't mind.

"…Thank you. I did not expect to get any sort of help today." Sheik's tone startled him more than his words did, and Link's attention snapped to him. Sheik's hands moved briefly, in a slower pattern than before.

"Hey, people aren't that racist here. If I hadn't shown you around Shad or, if she was in a good mood, Ashei. And, anyway, I have to make it up to you. I'm pretty sure taking you to the hospital got you in trouble, and if I had gotten there sooner I could have gotten them before they broke anything."

"How would you have stopped them?" Sheik murmured, his hands clenching. It was the most visible reaction of emotion Link had seen from him so far.

"The Poes used to get really upset when Dampè would have a coughing fit, like they did that night. I noticed it, but I didn't start looking for you until they were moving so fast that I could barely see them. I knew not to do that when Dampè was around, and I just ignored them. So…" Link trailed off, eyes growing dark. He hadn't understood why the Poes would be freaking out like that at first, when Dampè was dead, and it had cost Sheik a lot of trouble-not to mention the injuries. Link hadn't even been sure he was still _alive_ when Sheik's attackers had fled.

"…You are…very observant." He blinked, looking up at Sheik in surprise.

"What?"

"To take notice of the dead's behavior so, to acquire their goodwill to the point where they do not mislead you with such behaviors…It is impressive. Byrne has less skill with them than you do." Sheik murmured, gaze intent.

"I doubt that." Link snorted, shaking his head.

"His first attempt at calming down a great number of them lead to his…disability." Sheik replied seriously, one hand reaching up and touching his arm. Link's eyes widened.

"You're kidding."

Sheik suddenly stood up, tilting his head towards the school as the peal of a bell rang across the courtyard. He tucked away his map, taking a step towards the school.

"Are you coming, Link?" Link sat still for a moment, staring at him critically.

"...Yeah, hold up."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**THE WORD SHEIK WAS LOOKING FOR WAS CUTE. As in, 'Aw, the little Hylian thinks he can actually fight, that's so cute'. Diih=Cute.**

**I would be so happy if I could GET THROUGH THIS PART. I'm kind of sick of it, their first day at school and all. =.= I don't feel like I'm making any progress and it's annoying. Thank Nayru for Audiomachine.**

**But, whatcha think? Ravio made an earlier appearance than he was supposed to, but it's no big deal. A lot of things were hinted at this chapter, too, so there are important plot devices being formed. How many of you saw the Tournament thing coming? Any guesses about the blue Poe (It's not that well hidden, I just think its adorable). And the Sheikah language deals a lot with body language. I think I mentioned this earlier, but, if Sheik was looking one way and said something and then said the same thing and looked in a different direction, it could change the meaning of what he'd said. So yeah.**

**AND MAJORA'S MASK IS COMING OUT THIS SPRING FOR 3DS. I AM SO EFFING HAPPY. It's like Sheik coming BACK, except it's Majora's Mask coming back! Nintendo has made me so very happy this year.**


	4. Chapter 4

Byrne had accompanied Sheik to his last class, and Sheik wished he would have put up more of a fight about it. Class had yet to start, and though there were only twenty students, including himself and Link, no one was so much as moving a muscle. Byrne leaned against the chalkboard at the front of the room, metal arm entirely uncovered, as he studied each of the students, assessing them.

"…Is he always like this?" Link whispered. Sheik stopped glaring at his brother long enough to reply.

"He is protective. Marin would do the same."

"Sheik, how many siblings do you have?" He blinked, and paused for a moment before responding.

"Two. Marin, and Byrne. Three if you wish to count Hilda, as my aunt adopted me and legally we are…siblings."

"No, that's fine. Just the two is plenty. I don't think I could handle any more hostility." Sheik hid a smile.

"And you?"

"I got a little sister, Aryll. She's seven and remembers everything she's ever seen or heard or done, so try not to embarrass yourself in front of her." Link said, a grin flickering across his lips.

The door opened, and Sheik looked up as an adult Hylian entered the room. He was not physically imposing—he was slender and tall with long limbs and a narrow face—but his eyes were as hard and grey as steel, studying his students coldly. He wore his hair, the same shade as his eyes, long and pulled back into a low ponytail-something Sheik had already determined was something of an icon, judging by the collection of cartoonish doodles plastered around the room. He fit his name.

Grayblade stopped when he saw Byrne, and his eyes narrowed, traveling across the room until they landed on Sheik. He met the teacher's gaze, but Grayblade didn't turn it into a challenge—he moved on.

"This is Advanced Weaponry. I am your instructor. To the new students this year, just call me Grayblade. Today we're having weapon fittings. Grab a permission slip on your way down to the Ring, which is where class will be held daily from this point forward, unless I say differently. Find your partner, get your weapons, show me, and then practice the rest of the hour. You'll be caring for your weapons for the rest of the year, and I expect nothing less than perfect care from all of you. If you're not serious about this, then I expect you out of this class by tomorrow. Now go." He turned before he'd even finished speaking, and Byrne pushed himself off the wall to talk to him.

"Should we-?"

"Go? Yeah. Grayblade's probably gonna start yelling, and I don't want to be here when your brother kills him." Sheik shot him a glare that made it clear that wasn't funny, but stood and followed Link. Link grabbed a couple papers from a table by the door and handed Sheik one before heading out the door. Sheik glanced down at the paper, and inwardly sighed. He couldn't make heads or tails of the language when it was written down. Compositions had been hard—they'd been given a book that they would spend all marking period reading, writing a seven page paper on, and doing a more 'creative' project with. Sheik couldn't even read the title of the book.

"So-"

"Hush it, Link." A Hylian girl with incredibly short, spiky red hair snapped, glancing over her shoulder warningly at him. Link responded with a rude gesture, and she rolled her eyes at him, responding in kind before turning back around.

"So that was Malon, she's Ashei's buddy. Ashei's in this class but I have no idea where. Anyway, to graduate we've got a bunch of classes we're supposed to take like math and Compositions classes and social studies and that. Did you take those at home or something?"

Sheik just rolled with the subject change, nodding.

"What about health?"

"…Health?" Sheik repeated, signing confusion.

"Like, it talks about how to take care of yourself and treat minor wounds and—_oh_! Wait, are the Sheikah, like, _built _differently from us? Like, the Zora have scales and the flippery things and we have the pointy ears-do you guys have two hearts or something?" Sheik barely managed to hold his first reaction—a very loud and violent _no—_in.

And, anyway, that wasn't _technically_ true. There were differences-but mostly in magic and spirit. The only physical difference Sheik could think of was the ears—Hylians had long pointed ones, while Sheikah had smaller ears that tapered off more.

"You are an idiot, Link."

"No need to be mean. So you can basically take whatever you want?"

"Within the limits the Elders set, I suppose." Sheik shrugged.

"That's awesome. So, anyway, the Ring is this big ass pavilion sort of thing set up in the middle of the Central Courtyard, and the bottom is covered with sand so people can duel. There's a room leading out to it that has all the weapons we're supposed to pick from—we can't bring our own 'cause there were issues with some kids poisoning them or having secret compartments and all that stuff—but if you graduate with high enough honors, Grayblade'll let you keep your weapon. You can pick as many as you want, and if you use projectiles I suggest grabbing as many as possible. Grayblade'll restock arrows but daggers and other stuff is harder to come by. Just don't go too overboard and you're fine."

"…There is no magic allowed, correct?" Sheik asked, thinking of his lyre. He had left it in his locker, and spelled it against thieves earlier—he was terrified that someone would take it—but it would take too long to retrieve now without causing a scene, and he hated causing a scene about it. Ravio always made sure to do so when they sparred.

"Not yet. Once everybody's signed the slips and turned them in, we'll be introduced to other sorts of combat, including magic."

"…Alright."

"Ah, this way! Most of us have other classes with him but you don't, so you gotta pick your weapons." Link said quickly, grabbing Sheik's arm and turning him ninety degrees. Sheik automatically tugged himself free, but Link didn't seem to notice his reaction—just led the way to a door that a handful of other students were entering.

They all shot Link a glare when he entered, but he ignored them and swept an arm around him, while Sheik stared.

It was a spacious octagonal room, walls absolutely covered in cases holding all manner of weaponry. Stands and tables cluttered the rest of it, holding even more.

"This is ridiculous." Sheik muttered, sighing as he raked a hand through his bangs. Link snorted.

"Says the Sheikah?" Sheik jabbed his elbow into his stomach, and began browsing through the weapons.

He found a chain-whip fairly similar to the one he used, to his surprise, and he selected a number of throwing needles. Seven daggers and a longer blade, caught somewhere between a short sword and a dagger, joined his collection.

"That's it?" Link asked dubiously.

"He could kick your ass with his bare hands. He's doing you a service, if you really want a good fight." Byrne's low rumble startled Sheik-it wasn't often anyone snuck up on him, but now, with the clatter of weapons and noise of Hylians all around him, he'd let his guard down. Link let out a yelp and spun around, arms held defensively in front of him. To his credit, he didn't drop his guard when he saw it was Byrne.

"Where's your lyre?"

"I will not use magic today. Maybe soon, if Link proves his mettle." Sheik said, shooting the boy an amused look. Link rolled his eyes.

"So you two are partnering up?" Byrne asked, displeasure obvious in his pointed stare. Sheik met his gaze for a moment, then cocked his head and grinned.

"For the year. Does that bother you, brother mine?" Byrne's eyes narrowed.

"Don't start with me, fucker, or you won't be going _anywhere_ tomorrow." The threat did shake Sheik, but he refused to let his brother see it—Din damn him for knowing how much the studio meant to him.

"Does Malladus he know he will be spending the next two years here, Byrne?" Ruby eyes narrowed dangerously.

Honestly, most encounters between the two of them ended up like this—threatening and fighting and glaring and arguing. Byrne was callous, and he was a brute, but he meant well, and Sheik was careful to never say anything too out of line.

"Do you really think the dead would be that opposed to you joining their number?" The same could not be said of Byrne. Sheik's smile became brittle around the edges, and he shrugged.

"We'll find out soon enough, won't we?" Byrne's eyes widened in horror as he realized what he'd said and he reached out, but Sheik had already slipped past him and out the door.

"You alright?" Link asked softly, fingers brushing against Sheik's arm. _No._

"I am fine. Where do we go now?" He asked curtly, forcing the problem away. He'd dwell on it later, if it was worth dwelling on.

"I'll show you the locker room, and you can pick your locker. They're magically coded to you once you pick it, so no one else can get into it unless you let them. You can modify the spells to whatever you want, but Headmaster Owlan will get pissed if you don't tell him. Then we'll go tell Grayblade and go practice, because I know I'm being annoying but I'm seriously dying to fight." Sheik let out a small sound of amusement as Link led the way into another room just a few feet down the hall, this one with a blue door. Most of the class was milling around within it, standing around long rows of lockers that dominated the entire room. Link walked over to the first free-standing row and touched a locker. The metal flashed a dark green and the door opened.

"They all glow yellow when they're taken, so this isn't the best place to try and sleep—don't give me that look. The one next to mine is open, if you want it." Sheik stared at Link for a moment, serious.

He liked the Hylian, and for some reason he felt inclined to trust him with such simple things, as he'd been doing all day. He'd prayed to Nayru before coming this morning, but even her Wisdom wouldn't have extended this far. He couldn't decide if it was dangerous, how at ease Link made him feel, or if it was a good thing.

But storing weapons that were not his own beside Link's own weapon wasn't anything Sheik was concerned with, and he pressed his fingertips to a dull square of metal beside Link. It flashed grey, and swung open, revealing its empty depths as its mechanical magic slashed clumsily at his, bonding.

He tweaked the spells, cast a very nasty charm on anyone who dared try and open it—even though there would never be anything valuable in it—and closed the locker as he turned to face Link.

And stared.

Link had a metal shield strapped to one arm and a sheath buckled onto his back, and he was experimentally swinging a longsword around in his left hand. He held it naturally, unusual for a Hylian. It was admirable—he moved like a Sheikah. He swished it around a few times, careful not to hit anyone, before sheathing it. He looked up, catching Sheik's gaze as he slammed his locker shut.

"Let's go harass Grayblade then." Link said, grinning.

"You'll be doing no such think, master Elne."

_Elne?_ Sheik turned to find the teacher leaning in the doorway.

"Says you. So, Sheik and I are partnering up, and we're gonna go spar. That alright?" Grayblade's eyes slid to Sheik, and Sheik met his gaze readily. He was someone to watch, like Malladus, a manipulator.

Though, to be honest, Malladus wasn't subtle, and Sheik had no doubt this Grayblade was.

Sheik bowed and signed a greeting anyway.

"I hope you're prepared, Sheikah. Master Elne is not a challenge to take lightly."

"I assure you, Hylian, I am fully prepared to face Link." Link's eyebrows rose, and a number of heads turned. Sheik's voice was pleasant, though. He tilted his head and signed assurance, smiling beneath his cowl as Grayblade's eyes chilled. He wasn't entirely comfortable, being so rude to someone who would have been an Elder if they were Sheikah, but if Grayblade was going to use racial titles then he would oblige the adult.

"What are you doing taking this class, Sheikah? Isn't this supposed to be a little…_below_ your level?" Link's eyes widened and he jerked his head towards the door, inching away.

"Yes. There is nothing you could ever teach me." Sheik didn't answer Grayblade's first question, and offered a short bow as he followed Link. He felt the teacher's eyes boring into his back, and ignored it as best he could.

"…Sorry about him." Link muttered, looking at the floor as he rubbed the back of his head. Link was, Sheik noted, better prepared for the class than most. He had a pair of sturdy looking fingerless gloves on, a green short-sleeved shirt, a pair of cargo pants, and heavy duty boots—nothing long or baggy.

"Why are you apologizing? His behavior is not your fault." Sheik shrugged, signing reassurance and amusement as Link led him through a pair of glass doors at the end of the hall, and into a large rectangular courtyard. The center of it contained a pavilion—the Ring, Sheik assumed from its size. Link led him around the edges of the courtyard, on a stone path.

"The practice rooms are across the courtyard. And 'cause…well, what Shad was saying during Bio. He's…got issues. But…I still, ah…" Link trailed off, glancing at him, expression helpless as he shrugged. Sheik just nodded—all throughout the day he'd gotten the impression that Link regarded Grayblade very highly, and the passing comments Shad, and even Ashei, had made to him had bothered the Hylian.

"I understand. And I apologize for any trouble this causes you, but I will not let him degrade my people."

"I wouldn't ask you too." Link said, voice suddenly very firm. Sheik studied him curiously—it was something he'd been doing a lot, recently.

"I-"

"Well look who it is!" Link's eyes widened and Sheik turned. A Hylian built like Malladus and Byrne strode to them, a heavy broadsword strapped to his back. He was massive, but made of muscle, not fat, and towered over Link—who was a few inches taller than Sheik. He wasn't armed, and wore a heavy jacket over a blue short-sleeved shirt and jeans with an incredibly thick belt. His hair was a vibrant red and shone with oil, styled into some strange shape Sheik couldn't have named if he'd tried. Ravio might have known—he had been so fascinated with going to the Hylians for his first _Rheshae_ that the younger Sheikah had spent months memorizing everything he could about their culture and spewing facts out unasked.

"I'm busy."

"What? No, good to see you too old chum?" Link's eyes flashed, narrowing, and Sheik signed calm anxiously—he wasn't sure how Link acted when he was angry, and if he was as volatile as Byrne was...

"Sheik, this is Groose."

"Second in the country, for weapon dueling." The Hylian added, a cocky smile on his lips. Sheik signed discomfort, gaze flickering between the two Hylians. Was now a good time to ask…?

"…I have a question about your…weapon dueling category." Sheik asked, sighing. _Why not? _Link blinked at him, expression almost bewildered.

"What?"

"When you say weapons…would you face an archer, or would you only face those with melee weapons?"

"All types, but there are specific contests, usually smaller ones, for categories like that. Like, there're target contests to see how well you can aim and stuff." Sheik nodded slowly, and then, guilty over ignoring the other Hylian for so long, turned to face him.

"I apologize. Today is…" Sheik trailed of, signing exhaustion.

"_Groose!"_

"Go easy on Fledge, Groose." Link said, taking a step forward.

"Not my partner, not my problem." The Hylian said, teeth flashing briefly as he turned and jogged off. Link waited until he was out of earshot before speaking.

"He's a dick." It was said bluntly, startling Sheik, and he let out a soft laugh as he signed amusement.

"No, I'm not joking. He's relatively fine with everybody else, he's just a dick to me—and Shad, for that matter. I'd just avoid him, but…" Link shrugged, letting out an explosive sigh, and began walking again.

"So, is there anything I should be aware of? Like, when we duel?" Sheik stared at him blankly for a minute before the pieces clicked, and he shook his head. Sheik took a few quick steps forward until he was at the Hylian's side before replying.

"_Lhe_…no. We have traditions, but nothing important. Do you…?"

"Fight fair, I guess, and don't kill anyone? But that's common sense, so, I guess not." Link shrugged, flushing.

"If there's something special going on Grayblade'll go over everything you need to know." He added, tugging open a glass door leading back into the building. Sheik followed him in silence, until they came to a series of small rooms, each with a glass wall facing the hall they stood in. Each of the rooms were devoid of all furniture, with padded walls and floors, though the mats showed signs of distress. The rooms themselves weren't too small-there'd be plenty of room to maneuver. The doors of each room had a small whiteboard and a marker dangling from a string.

Link stopped in front of one and uncapped the marker, scribbling on the board.

"How do you spell your name?"

"It does not matter." Sheik said quickly, blushing as he ducked his head-he _really_ needed to find someone to help him study Hylian language. Link glanced at him, but said nothing.

"Alright."

Sheik closed the door carefully, checking to see if it had a lock-it didn't, to his relief-behind them. Link dropped his shield and his blade against a nearby wall and walked over to the windows-up high, tucked out of sight of the hall, Sheik saw, were blinds. Link tugged them down, wincing as the cheap plastic smacked against glass, and Sheik let his attention wander. He dropped into a _Uirah_ to stretch his muscles without a thought, mind drifting.

Advanced Weaponry had two hours, first and seventh hours, but the first hour class was led by a Professor Owlan. Ravio had that hour-Sheik wondered how it had gone. He hoped it had gone well. Hilda had refused to take a dueling class, which had about broken Ravio's heart. They were, after all, battle partners.

"Ready?" Sheik very nearly had a heart attack when he realized Link was staring at him, and then realized what exactly he'd been doing.

On the bright side, he supposed, he wouldn't have to learn Hylian. He'd be too dead for that.

"…Yes." Link already had his equipment on.

And Link drew his sword. Sheik studied him a moment, Link watching him eagerly-

-and then attacked.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Sheik moved like liquid, flowing from one attack to the other and never staying still, circling and darting away so quickly Link barely had time to register his movements and respond. He worked his sword frantically, barely managing to block one of Sheik's daggers.

Contrary to most people's beliefs, Grayblade didn't spell his students' weapons. They were blunt, but they could still cut. Sheik had enough force behind his blows to do that.

Something flashed in the air at Sheik's fingertips as he again withdrew for a second, and Link hit the ground as a number of needles hit the mat behind him with a series of solid thumps. He turned the roll into an attack, his blade flashing across Sheik's stomach-

-and then a dagger pressed against his throat, and somebody leaned heavily against his back, hair tickling the back of his neck and soft laughter filling the air.

"Very good." Sheik laughed, pushing away from him. Link stayed on the ground for a moment, blushing furiously as he struggled to get it under control, before pushing himself to his feet.

All in all, the battle had taken only a couple of minutes, if that, and Link was breathing hard.

"How in the Dark Realm do you move so fast?" Link asked, sagging against the wall behind him as he watched Sheik. The Sheikah was entirely oblivious to his staring—he had his hands on his hips and was staring at the needles, which had buried themselves in the mat, with a frown on his lips. His cowl was down.

Well, at least Link had managed to do _that_. The Poe was dancing around the needles lazily, bouncing off of the bits of metal poking out of the mat.

"Training. The dead are…very quick if they are unsettled. If we are not faster…" Sheik shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at him.

"How do I go about this, exactly?"

"I _would_ just leave them, but if we do that Grayblade will freak out. Maybe—" The door swung open, and a familiar russet mop of hair poked in.

"Oh, Farore, it's you. Why are the blinds down, Link?" Pipit demanded, looking relieved as he entered the practice room.

"Just practicing with Sheik. Glad you came in though, we need your help. Sheik tried to decapitate me and got his needles stuck in the mat." Pipit's gaze was blank as he looked between the two of them, and he folded his arms across his chest as he scowled at them.

"Oh, and, Sheik? This is Pipit. He's Grayblade's nephew and he's the student teacher this year. Pipit, this is Sheik, he's one of the Sheikah transfer students." Apparently satisfied, Pipit studied Sheik. Sheik gave a quick bow, the sort he'd been giving to teachers all day, and his fingers moved quickly in a handful of gestures as he smiled briefly at Pipit.

"Alright. Well, I'll go get some pliers. Have you tried anything?"

"The needles are fairly sharp. That would be unwise." Sheik said dryly, lifting his right hand up. The bandages he kept wound around his fingers were wet with blood, and Link let out a yelp.

"How did you cut yourself on-?" Pipit stopped himself, staring in shock. Sheik looked taken aback by their responses and stared at the two of them like they'd grown two heads.

"I could not tell if you would be able to dodge them, so I threw the blunt ends. Well, blunt-_er_." Sheik added, brow furrowing as he stared at the pieces of metal protruding from the mat.

"Dear Farore, Link. Always with the crazy ones. I'll take care of this—_this_ time. You go get your buddy cleaned up. Karane should be in the nurse's, so hopefully you can get out of their without getting into too much trouble."

"Pipit, I promise I'll-"

"Go, Elne."

"Yes sir. C'mon, Sheik." Link made a point to get his ass out of there as quickly as he could, an amused Sheik following him.

Pipit was a pretty decent guy, and he was always careful to take care of any messes kids that his dad didn't like mad, to keep tensions at a minimum. He wasn't as good a fighter as Grayblade and he tried not to compete, but he was terrifying when he got angry and Link had no intentions of being at the receiving end of that _ever again._

"Where are we headed now?" Sheik sighed, falling in step beside him.

"Nurse's office. Karane should be there and she'll help us fix your hand and get us out of there as quick as we can."

The nurse's office was situated just outside the practice hall, luckily for anyone who got seriously injured. There weren't any doors in it, except leading into the stock room and a smaller infirmary where those who needed to sleep or wanted quiet generally went, but Link stopped Sheik before he could enter and hesitantly poked his head inside.

"_Shit-!"_ He barely managed to get back out of the office before something hurtled past where his face had been a second ago.

"Get out!"

"Pipit sent us!" Link yelped. He staggered back into Sheik when Karane's head popped out of the doorframe.

"Oh, he did? What's he want? You know, he promised he'd take me out to dinner tonight and if he sent you to tell me he's canceling-"

"No, no, nothing like that. Sheik cut himself trying to decapitate me, so-" Her flat expression cut him off, and her gaze moved to Sheik.

"Next time, don't come unless you actually succeed."

"_Karane_!" He yelped.

"Come on in. You too, Elne. Are you hurt too?" She asked, grabbing Sheik's arm and tugging him after her.

"No."

"Good, 'cause I don't have the time to deal with you too. I'm Karane, by the way." Sheik didn't say a word, just listened to her prattle on with a curious expression on his face. Something cold touched the back of Link's neck and he yelped, very nearly falling down as he spun around. The Poe floated behind him, and as he stared at it, it again dropped down into his hair. The blue light seemed to like it there.

"So can you take off the bandages for me-?"

"You are supposed to heal this, correct?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm one of the school's nurses. I'm not certified to use magic, but we've got bandages and salves that I can use. Did you hit your head, kid?" Link turned to face the two of them, sensing something off in Sheik's tone.

"No. I apologize, but I have it under control." Sheik said firmly, taking a step back from Karane and clenching his injured hand into a fist.

"And that's why you're dripping blood onto my carpet? Don't think so. C'mon, kid." A light bulb went off somewhere, and Link realized why Sheik was so edgy.

"Karane, chill. Sorry, Sheik, I didn't think. The Sheikah have their own stuff they do-"

"I'm not sending this kid back to class bleeding!"

Link felt a sudden shift in magic, and he snapped to attention—Shad had always told him he was dense, especially when it came to magic. Link could never feel any sort of spell unless it was _powerful._

"Calm down, Link." Sheik murmured, glancing at him. Karane had a hand on her chest and was staring at Sheik like he'd grown two heads.

"What the _fuck_-?!" Sheik ignored her, tugging at the bandages on his left hand until they came undone, and expertly winding them around the bloody ones on his right hand.

"…I healed my wound."

"Then why the bandages?"

"I do not wish to get blood on anything else I touch today, Link. Thank you, but your aide was not needed." At some point Sheik had replaced his cowl, and he tilted his head slightly in Karane's direction. She stared at him for a moment longer before recovering, and looked at Link. Her eyes widened.

"What the fuck is on your head, Elne?"

"…What?" Link's hands flew to his head, and fizzled against something.

_Oh. Right. The Poe._

"Sheik's pet."

"It is not a _pet_." Sheik said, eyes narrowed. Link shrugged an apology.

"Sheik's buddy. Well, thanks anyway, Karane."

"Uh huh. Don't come unless you actually need my help next time."

Sheik didn't say a word until they'd left the nurses office and begun the trek back to the courtyard-avoiding the practice hall, of course. Link thought about asking him about the magic—he doubted it was necessary to use such a powerful spell—but something warned him off of it, and he remained silent.

"…Your last name is Elne?"

"Um, yeah. Why?" Sheik studied him again, expression carefully blank. He reached up and grabbed the Poe from Link's hair, cradling it gently between his hands.

"It is a very old Sheikah word. I just…wonder how it came to be a Hylian surname."

"What's it mean?" Link asked curiously, eyes wide. His last name was _Sheikah_? But it came from his mother's side, not his father's, which made it even more of a mystery. His grandmother had come from across the seas of Termina, and his grandfather was a native to Kakariko—and they were both full Hylian on both sides. How in the Farore's name had they ended up with a _Sheikah_ name?

"I could tell you that it means forest, but that would be a lie. I do not know the specific translation, but _elne_ is the title of a specific place." Link frowned, intrigued. He was cautious of asking Sheik direct questions about things, and he held off asking where the place was. The Sheikah were an incredibly secretive race—and he had no intention of surviving so long and _then_ insulting them. So he asked the second question that came to mind.

"Does it still exist?" Sheik didn't respond immediately, and busied himself by tucking the Poe out of sight.

"…Perhaps."

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

"You look happy." Sheik said dryly, glancing up at Ravio as the younger boy threw himself onto the ground beside Sheik with a grin on his lips. A Redead lay curled in the fetal position beside him, and Ravio immediately began tending to it, coaxing it out of its shell. Sheik had a Dead Hand's head resting on his lap and a purple Poe at his shoulder—the graveyard was still incredibly active, though it wasn't trying to break free any longer.

"Hilda was pissed at me this morning so she was giving me the cold shoulder all day, and this Hylian—I think her name was Ceres—gave me her number and Hilda saw it. We got yelled at by one of the instructors 'cause you know how Hylians are, but it made my day." Ravio declared, looking incredibly pleased with himself. Sheik snorted in amusement. Hilda wasn't very affectionate in public, but she got jealous very easily. She had been the one to convince Elder Midna to send Ravio with her to the Hylians for his first _Rheshae _instead of going to the Gerudo. It wasn't the sex that bothered her—it never was—but it was the idea of losing Ravio that scared Hilda more than anything else.

Sheik had borne the brunt of her anxiety when the two of them had first started seeing one another, which had always mystified him. Hilda was firmly on Elder Midna's side—it was why she no longer lived with her mother. Her placing so much trust in him, relying so heavily on him, had been…flattering. Bitter, but flattering.

"How's that Compositions paper going for you?" Ravio asked, smirking. Sheik signed a rude gesture at him, making the younger boy laugh.

"Can you help me?" Sheik pleaded.

"No. Impa made me swear on the Shadow Temple's you-know-what that I wouldn't help you. She did the same with Hilda and Marin and Byrne, too."

Sheik let out a cry of protest, and Ravio snickered.

"She wants you to make friends."

"Then she's more sadistic than I thought she was!" He exploded.

"You know that's not why." Ravio said softly, expression suddenly grave, serious. Sheik's jaw tightened, and he glared back.

"It's what it will lead to."

"You hit it off with my Hylian and that nerdy kid. It can't—Sheik!"

"No." He was already on his feet, leaving the Dead Hand in Ravio's care as he strode off into the depths of the graveyard.

He knew, on some level, that Impa just wanted what was best for him. But forcing him to make friends, especially when he could _literally_ die any day, when his existence was only temporary? It was beyond cruel—not just to Sheik, but to whomever he befriended. It was bad enough that his family and Ravio would miss him—adding more people to his conscience was something Sheik couldn't bear to do.

Ravio didn't follow him, to his relief, and Sheik eventually sank down beside a Gibdo that was kneeling besides its blade, the weapon half-buried in the earth at its side. The creature leaned into him, a faint whispery whine escaping it.

It had broken a leg, and Sheik set the bone, murmuring soft nonsense to the creature as he healed it to keep it calm. The Gibdo stood as soon as he withdrew his magic, and with the effortless grace of the dead drew its massive sword from the earth. The creature rested its fingertips against Sheik's forehead, a silent thanks, before lopping off into the cemetery.

Sheik pushed himself up and continued on.

He pushed himself hard, putting a great swarm of Poes to rest and helping a number of Redeads find their ways back into their mausoleums. He enjoyed the work, and it kept his mind off of Ravio's comment, and by the time Impa's magic crackled across the graveyard, it had mostly settled down.

There were a few Dead Hands still wandering, but they weren't hungry, and the Gibdos just wanted to patrol the perimeter. Redeads gravitated towards one another, and they would be fine so long as they found others. Poes, as always, were relatively harmless. Even if someone came to visit, the chance of them getting hurt was as minimal as it ever got.

Sheik stopped by Dampè's hut to grab his bag and his lyre, then hurried to the gates.

Impa smiled at him when he slid into the passenger's seat of her car, glancing behind him at Ravio's form, sleeping stretched out on the back seat.

"How was it today?"

"…Exhausting." Sheik sighed, resting his head on the door as she pulled out onto the road.

"Ravio told me about your assignment." He tensed immediately, gaze flickering to the mirror hanging between the two of them. Ravio's eye cracked open, met his gaze, and hurriedly closed again.

"Did he tell you-?"

"Yes." Impa let out a soft 'ah', ignoring the anger lacing the word.

"Is there anyone you could ask? Your teacher might-"

"No." It was a lie, but he said it with enough force for Impa to drop the matter. He'd have to ask someone-preferably someone he was relatively comfortable around-and the only person who was allowed to help him that came to mind was Link.

"I want you to solve this problem by tonight, Sheik." It was a challenge, and he glared at her.

She'd always done that—given him a deadline for things, whether it was chores or training or work. It had been fun when he'd been a child, but _now_? On _this?_

And how in Nayru's name was he supposed to do it anyway? He knew what she meant—she wanted proof, someone to agree to help him, by the time she went to bed.

It was six o'clock already. Who in Nayru's name could he-?

Ravio had that girl's number, he realized. And she would probably have Ashei's. And, undoubtedly, Ashei would have Shad's. But Shad had seemed so busy—Sheik had asked him what it was he was involved in, and the list of activities had startled him. He doubted Shad would have enough time to help him—and the only other Hylian he knew who could help would be Link.

But _really_? He didn't even like talking to his own _siblings_ half of the time. Four Hylians just to get a number from _one_ of them?

_Nayru damn her!_

He threw his bag over his shoulder, watching in the mirror as it hit Ravio in the stomach. Ravio gave up his pretense of sleep, crying out.

"-Sheik-!"

"You bastard. You knew."

"Impa, he's gonna kill me!"

"Boys, _sit!_ Ravio, give him whatever it is he needs or I'll _let_ him kill you." Ravio chucked a crumpled wad of paper at him, kicking his feet against the car seat in order to propel himself as far away as he could get. Sheik caught the paper and dropped back into his seat, glaring sullenly at the road before them.

"I'm sorry!"

"I really couldn't care less."

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Sheik turned the device over in his hands, glaring at the paper lying next to him. He wasn't one for sulking or hiding out in his bedroom, but he found himself doing both. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed with his phone. His blue Poe flitted about his room, examining everything with a childlike curiosity that did nothing to keep him from dwelling on his anger.

Impa had gotten it for him when he'd first begun spending time at the studio so he could stay later than usual. The only numbers he had on it were hers, Malladus' (Byrne didn't have a phone), Marin's, and Ravio's.

The only times he had ever used it were to call Ravio, because the younger boy had thought it would be great to talk to each other in the middle of the night when they were supposed to be asleep, as children. Impa had turned a blind eye, but Ravio had given up on it after realizing they had nothing to say to each other they didn't already say when they saw each other daily. And, when he'd gone to the Gerudo, he'd just warped back once every few months to see Impa. Hadn't used it then at all.

He took care of it, though. Usually it sat in his desk, untouched, but every so often he'd pull it out and make sure it was charged.

He let out a sigh and began dialing.

It rang a few times before someone answered.

"Hello?" The voice was feminine, bright and chipper.

"This is Ceres, correct?"

"Um, yeah. Who's this?"

"I am Sheik. You gave Ravio your…number earlier-"

"Oh, did he have you call? Is he with that purple-haired girl? Is he interested?" The eagerness in her voice destroyed any thoughts Sheik had about telling her Ravio _was_ interested. He couldn't hurt her like that, though he had no idea who she was.

"I actually have a question that he thought you could answer." Sheik said slowly, standing and walking over to his desk. He rummaged around in it, pulling out a pad of paper and a pencil.

"He did? Oh, he thinks I'm smart—this is great! Yeah, alright, what is it?"

"I need to get in touch with either Ashei or Shad. Do you have any way of contacting them-?"

"Oh, of _course_ I do! Shad's on student council with me—here! Got a pen and paper?"

"…Yes."

She rattled off Shad's number so quickly Sheik almost didn't get it all down, then attempted to dig for information about Ravio.

Sheik _might_ have let his friend's schedule slip, but he hung up immediately thereafter and tried Shad's number.

Shad picked up right away.

"Hello? This is Shad."

"…Shad?"

"….Sheik? Holy—Alright, hi. What do you need?"

He let out an explosive sigh.

"I need to contact Link."

"Is he not going to be at school tomorrow or something? You alright?"

"I do not know. I just…I can barely speak Hylian correctly, and reading and writing the language are entirely beyond me. My aunt has given me until tonight to find someone who can teach me it, and I would ask you but I understand that you are busy and this must be done as soon as possible." Sheik regretted the words as soon as he said them—there was no need for Shad to know any of it. It would only cause trouble.

"Hey, it's alright. I'd love to help, Sheik, but you're right—I kind of overloaded on stuff this year. Look, I'll give you Link's number and you can try him, but I don't know if he'll pick up for you or what he's got going on this year. This is your number, right?"

"Yes."

"I'll save it, alright? You can call whenever. And…Link's kind of difficult sometimes, so…anyway, I hope it goes okay."

Sheik scowled at that—Shad's words were too ominous for his tastes—but he obediently copied down the number and added Shad to his contact list.

"I'll try to help as best I can, 'kay? I've gotta go now, though. Dad's home. See you tomorrow, Sheik."

"Thank you, Shad." Sheik sighed, and hung up. He glared at the phone for a moment longer before dialing Link's number.

He really hated this-the waiting and the talking and the technology. Damned Hylians. He could manage computers just fine, but this _phone_.

It rang, and rang, and rang. Sheik let out a sigh and was just about to pull it away from his ear when somebody picked up.

"Hi!" It was a child's voice, that of a little girl.

"…Hello?"

"Who are you?"

"_Aryll!"_ The shout startled him and he nearly dropped the phone. Sounds of general chaos ensued, and he held it away from his ear. Had Shad given him a wrong number?

"Uh, hello?" No, that was Link's voice.

"Link…?"

"Who's—Sheik? Uh, h-where'd you get this number?"

"Shad…"

"Ok—_Fanadi!_ Stop It! Hold on a minute, sorry Sheik."

Sheik let his forehead hit his desk. His bedroom door flew open, crashing against the wall, and he jumped violently—nearly falling from his seat. Impa stood in the doorframe, hands on her hips and glaring dangerously as she signed anger.

"Why is there blood on your bag?" She asked it in Hylian.

"I cut myself." Sheik held up his hand to prove the point, and her eyes widened.

"Did anyone see?"

"I took care of it myself."

"How did you cut yourself?"

"I threw the blunt end of the needles I was using. I did not want to…decapitate Link." The word felt strange on his tongue, but he liked it. He'd asked Byrne on the way to the graveyard-it meant to sever the head from the neck. The needles hadn't been wide enough to do that, but it amused him that Link had declared they would have.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Who's Link?"

"…Sheik?" He turned his attention to the phone, literally putting his back to his aunt—he was still angry with her, but it was a stupid move. Last time he'd done so she'd turned it into an 'educational' experience, and he hadn't been bruised that badly since the last time Byrne came to visit. The point, she'd said when he'd asked, was to never put your back to your enemy.

"I apologize if I am interrupting anything."

"No, you're fine. It's Monday and everybody comes over for dinner on Monday, so they're being annoying. What do you need? Something wrong?" Movement caught his eye and he turned as Impa strode in, taking a seat on his bed as she folded her arms across her chest, signing suspicion.

"No, I, ah…I can barely speak your language, and I cannot read or write it. I need help learning the language, and I was wondering if you would be willing to do so." There was a beat of silence before Link responded.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm not an expert in languages or anything, but I'd be willing to help. This for Compositions?"

"Everything." Sheik said faintly, and the sudden enormity of what he was asking of a virtual stranger struck him.

"If you are busy and cannot-"

"No, Sheik, I've got nothing going on. I'm free. Is this something you'll want to do after school or on weekends or something?"

"I would like to get this done as quickly as I possibly can. I do not want to be a burden and this is something that…should have been-"

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Link's voice was, surprisingly, firm.

"Do you have anything going on tomorrow night?"

"I will be at the studio, but I do not think that there is much to…do there at this point in time."

"What's the studio?"

"…You do know how your magic works, do you not?"

"...What?" Sheik laughed.

"Music. Hylian magic is intimately tied in with music."

"Oh. _Oh. _Yeah. Alright, that makes sense. Sorry. I'm not a total idiot, I swear. So I'm free tomorrow. Do you want to meet there or something?"

"Hilda is taking me there tomorrow after classes. If you wish to, you may ride with us."

"You could just not go tomorrow." Impa cut in, voice too quiet for Link to hear. Sheik responded by throwing his pencil at her. He'd sacrificed nearly a _month_ for that damned injury-he was _going._

"Sure. Would you be able to drop me off?"

"Yes." If somebody couldn't drive him, Sheik could always use magic—the ban only applied if he was in town, not in Sheikah land. Elder Midna would still kill him for it, but...

"Cool. Alright, then. I'll have Fanadi watch Aryll for me, then. Anything else you need?"

"No. Thank you, Link, for doing this."

"What are friends for? I've gotta go—sounds like somebody's murdering somebody in there. See you tomorrow, Sheik." And Link hung up, like his words hadn't just run Sheik through.

Sheik sat there, stunned. _Friends?_

"This was a mistake." He murmured in Sheikah, dropping the phone on his desk. Impa shook her head.

"No."

"I can't do this."

"You will."

"I'm not going to—I _can't_—condemn him—or any of them for that matter—to that!"

"This isn't about them." Impa snapped, standing up. The shadows in the corners of his room snapped violently, darkening. He stood up as well.

"This is about _you_, Sheik, and the fact that you are _miserable_ because of some lie your-"

"Don't you _dare_ bring them into this! This isn't about them!"

"Yes it is! This argument is _always_ about them!"

"Shut _up!_ This has nothing to do with them! This has to do with the fact I will _not_ be that _cruel_ to someone! This has to do with the fact my conscience will not let me hurt someone like that for a few _seconds_ of—of _what?!_ I wouldn't be able to tell them anything—I'd spend the whole time _lying_ to them, for Nayru's sake! What kind of relationship would that even _be?!_ It isn't worth it! And you forcing things so-"

"Sheik-"

"_No!_ I can't—I can't do this! I _won't!_"

He was out of the room before Impa had recovered, stumbling down the stairs-

-and right into Byrne.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Byrne opened the door before Impa had time to knock, and she very nearly wept in relief when she spotted Sheik. He was curled up in a nest of blankets on Malladus' couch, asleep. Byrne didn't say a word when she swept past him and began fussing over Sheik, just closed the door. Thankfully, her nephew didn't stir—it would start something if he were to wake up and see her.

There was a cut on his cheek. Her jaw clenched and her head snapped up. She could feel the shadows flickering—and Malladus studiously refused to meet her gaze.

"…He was angry. Wanted a fight. Gave me a couple good bruises. Then I handed him over to Byrne and he cried for most of the night." Malladus added, scowling. Byrne rolled his eyes at his Elder and leaned against the wall beside him, raking his metal fingers through his hair.

"Did he tell you…?"

"He only ever does this when it's about Mom and Dad. Was pretty upset about some Hylians—one of them was the kid at the attack." Byrne said pointedly.

_Link_. That was where she'd known the name. And, hadn't Ravio said something about meeting his Hylian today when Sheik had introduced them?

"I made him socialize. The boy must have said something to him that upset him, and I…didn't think. He'd been doing so _well_ and then he just…shut down."

Impa sat on the carpet, watching Sheik anxiously while Byrne let out another sigh. Malladus disappeared to Nayru-knew-where. Any sort of display of emotion made the Elder uncomfortable. The fact that he was still here, especially if Sheik had been as much of a mess as he'd said he was, was a miracle.

"You might not give a fuck what happens to the Hylian, but the whole point of this is that Sheik _will_. He can't handle doing that to someone. At best, he'll blurt everything out to the kid and the kid'll think he's nuts. At worst, Marin's crazy-ass plan will actually succeed, and when the Elder's finally get their shit together...no offense." Byrne added lazily, craning his head around a nearby doorway. A grunt echoed through the doorway.

"He knows you mean the best, _nereih. _Don't doubt that. Just…give him time. You should have seen them today." Byrne added, snorting as he dropped down into an armchair. Impa lifted her gaze from Sheik in time to see Byrne sign amusement.

"Ravio was a fucking nut, and Hilda was so overwhelmed she just followed him everywhere. Sheik ran into that kid from the attack and just kinda followed him or his buddy all day. That combat class that Sheik signed up for? They had to pick ah, I think it's kind of like battle partners for the Hylians. He teamed up with that kid right off the bat. They skipped most of the class, honestly, but Sheik said the kid had more skill than he'd expected. He was excited about that." Byrne trailed off, sighing and raking a hand through his hair.

"I pissed off all his teachers, so I'm not going tomorrow…well, today, actually. He can take care of himself just fine." Byrne added, seeing her about to protest. Impa glared at him, but she knew he was right.

It didn't stop her worrying, or her fear.

"…Do you think he'll take his trial soon?" Byrne asked. Impa slowly reached out and tugged carefully on the ruby earring hanging from Sheik's ear, a small smile on her lips. He'd earn a purple one when he was declared an adult and survived the Shadow Temple, and a blue one after passing his Hylian _Rheshae. _Generally Sheikah earned the red, blue, and then purple, but…Sheik wouldn't leave the Sheikah for anything. He'd have left by now if he truly wanted to, even with the Elders such a large threat to him.

_He'd grown up so fast…_

"By the time this _Rheshae_ has ended, he'll be all but an Elder." Impa murmured.

"Do you really think they'll kill him?" It was blunt, but, then again, Byrne had never been one for subtly. She sighed.

"With Ganondorf having Power and Sheik having Wisdom's Power, they can actually teach the kid how to control it without starting another war, right? And I don't care what Elder Midna says, she's as attached to him as you are." Byrne pressed, before she could respond. Impa shook her head.

"That's the point. We're not supposed to be biased. Just because I so clearly am, Midna _has_ to push just as hard in the opposite direction. You know what kind of person she is, what she's lost. She swore that she wouldn't mess this chance up, and she'll do anything to keep that promise. Nayru didn't accept her lightly."

No. Nayru had very nearly killed Midna before changing her mind. Even Malladus, who truly _was_ a demon, hadn't faced nearly as much opposition to becoming a Sheikah. He'd sacrificed his power for some semblance of humanity—Midna hadn't had any when she'd passed her Shadow Trials and her Ceremony.

"Shouldn't matter. Nayru took Sheik with open arms and he's been so damned blessed…" Byrne shook his head, angry.

"Don't blame her." Impa warned, standing up.

"I'll blame the bitch as much as I want. She did this to him. Her and-" Byrne broke off, shaking his head again.

"You sleeping here?"

"No. I just wanted to make sure he was safe."

He hugged her before she left, and Malladus came out of hiding long enough to give her a stiff nod.

She didn't go home. She couldn't bring herself to. Instead she went to the one place she could get in serious trouble for going—but it was the only place she had always been able to call home.

Eagus welcomed her with a half-smile and no questions.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Thank you to Imagination That for pointing out the English/Compositions issue. It be fixed now! Seriously, though, thank you again. I can't believe I did that -/- **

**There's a Doctor Who reference in this chapter-can you find it? LOL it's not that good and it's not that well hidden, but, still~**


	5. Chapter 5

Sheik was too tired to really pay attention throughout the day, and by the time seventh hour rolled around he was ready to go take a nap. He'd stayed up far too late, fighting with Malladus, and no matter how many times he slept on the Elder's couch he never learned—it was the most uncomfortable thing in all existence.

"So…" He looked up as Link dropped down beside him, the Hylian rubbing the back of his head nervously. They hadn't sparred at all—Sheik still hadn't replaced his needles, and Link refused to fight when it wasn't a fair fight, though Sheik _had_ pointed out it wasn't a fair fight anyway. Instead, they were taking care of their weapons in a corner of the central courtyard beneath the shade of a large pine tree that had had its lower branches cut to allow students unhindered access beneath it.

"How much of the language do you know, then?"

"…You have an alphabet with twenty-six letters. You write it left to right horizontally, and read it as such." Sheik shrugged, and Link laughed.

"Well, that's good. I wouldn't have thought to tell you that at all. So we'll start with the alphabet. I took a year of Zora freshman year and that's how we learned, and I can still remember how to say hi, so it's got to be alright." Sheik signed amusement, turning his dagger over in his fingers idly.

"Thank you, again."

"You alright? You look like you didn't sleep." Link asked hesitantly, waving away Sheik's words. Sheik shook his head.

"I did not sleep well. It is nothing serious." He sighed, putting his dagger away. The only class he'd paid any heed to was strings, and that had gone just _swimmingly_. The instructor hadn't believed him when he'd told him he was perfectly capable of playing a piece of music he was handing out without having seen it before—a claim he'd only made when the man had spoken down to him—and Sheik had angered him further by succeeding in doing so. It hadn't been hard, compared to what he normally did. Sheik had stayed after class to apologize and explain himself, which had made things better, but…he would rather spend time in the studio for that hour.

"'Sup boys? Got any plans tonight?" Ashei's voice surprised Sheik, and he looked up as she dropped down beside Link, elbowing him.

"_Ow!_ Jerk. And, yeah. Gonna go help Sheik at the, ah, what'd you call it?"

"The studio." Ashei's brow furrowed as Sheik signed amusement. There wasn't any real need for Link to try and disguise what their real purpose was, but Sheik appreciated the gesture anyway.

"Studio, yeah? What's that?"

"It's where the Sheikah make sure you're not putting your magic in songs and stuff."

"Oh, a production studio? They don't just do that, dumbass. Here in Kakariko, an artist gets all their stuff done, yeah? Recording, sound mixing, everything." Ashei said, smirking to herself as she met Sheik's stare.

"How do _you_ know that?" She elbowed Link in the stomach before answering his question.

"Shad's mom, dumbass. It's new nickname, yeah? Make sure to call him it." Ashei added, the last part directed at Sheik. Sheik had heard enough foul language from Byrne and Ravio to recognize the word for what it was, though its exact meaning escaped him.

"So, anyway, who needs your help so badly?" Sheik thought back for a moment before recalling the name.

"Mamamu Yan will be there tonight. She does not often need any sort of aide, but supervision is always required." Ashei's jaw had dropped.

"No _shit!_ You're joking, aren't you?"

"No." Sheik said, a smile flickering across his lips at the shock on Ashei's face. He had known Mamamu Yan was well known, but not to the extent where a student would recognize her name. She sang jazz, anyway—and, he realized suddenly, he couldn't picture Ashei listening to that.

"She's Mom's favorite. I was listening to her before I was out of the womb." Ashei's voice was surprisingly wistful, and Sheik smiled sadly at her.

"Link, could you get me an autograph? It'd be nice to put at her grave, yeah?"

"If you stop calling me dumbass." Sheik laughed softly and Ashei scowled at him, but she nodded.

"I suppose…Hey, has Fledge talked to you today? He was partnered with Stritch, and I know Groose was…well, you know." Link was already on his feet.

"I'll go find him. You want to come, Sheik?" Sheik nodded and stood. He murmured a goodbye to Ashei before following Link.

"What is wrong?" Sheik asked quietly, catching up to Link.

"Nothing, I don't think. Ashei just worries about Fledge a lot-he's her neighbor and all, so they're kinda like family. Groose is always getting him into trouble—using him as a scapegoat most of the time. Fledge puts up with it, though, so I suppose that's his problem." It was clear that Link didn't particularly like the situation much, but there was little he could do to change it. Sheik let out a soft sound of acknowledgement.

Fledge turned out to be a blonde boy with a similar build to Sheik's, though he was taller. He was being very badly beaten by a tall, lanky boy with a spear. Sheik barely caught Link's arm before he interrupted the fight, and held him there until Fledge cried out surrender. Then, Sheik made a point to walk ahead of Link—he had a feeling the Hylian would blow up on the two boys unless Sheik intervened.

Sheik offered a hand to Fledge, and the Hylian stared at him as if he had two heads for a long moment before accepting the aide.

"You give in too easily." Sheik murmured, helping the boy gather up his weapons-a halberd that was far too long for him and a full-bodied shield. The boy with the spear watched curiously.

"What?"

"You give ground before he attacks, and continue to back away as he pushes the attack. Speak to Grayblade about your weapon—it is not the proper size." Sheik added, taking the halberd from him. If it had been unwieldy in Fledge's hands, it was gargantuan in Sheik's. He felt like a child, picking up a sword for the first time and protesting to Impa that it was too big. Link took one look at him and burst into laughter, even when Sheik poked him with the tip of the halberd.

"Who're you?" Fledge asked, snatching his weapon back.

"Fledge, that's Sheik. And this is Stritch."

"What are you here for, Elne?"

_Elne_. Sheik still wasn't used to hearing a Sheikah word thrown around like that, even if they didn't pronounce it entirely correctly. He'd entirely forgotten to bring it up to Impa, too…

Not that he'd had much of a chance.

"Nothing to do with you. Ashei's looking for you, Fledge. Told her I'd go hunt you down. I'd take Sheik's advice, though—he beat my ass yesterday." Sheik watched Stritch's reaction curiously—the boy's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged out. Why was it such a concern for the Hylians? If Link really _was_ the most skilled among their number, even they had to know it wouldn't measure up to a Sheikah's training.

Though that wasn't true. Sheik had a feeling it wouldn't be as easy the next time he fought Link. He'd adjust, adapt.

"_What?_"

"Well, you might want to go find her soon. C'mon, Sheik. We've gotta go find Pipit." Sheik didn't even bother to ask why, just followed. He was slowly getting his bearings in the courtyard, figuring out where everything was and where the areas of interest would be to him. He watched other students fighting or talking. There were a trio of students shooting at a target high up on the courtyard wall, two with bows and one with what looked like a sling. A boy with a massive hammer was swinging wildly at a girl with a short sword. There were other instructors than just Grayblade there as well, and each of them seemed to specialize in a certain type of weapon.

"Pipit said he had your needles-apparently they weren't stuck in there too deep or anything, and he padded them. They might be a little ungainly until you get used to it, though." Sheik let out a soft hum, tilting his head.

"Shad said you got into it with Embrose. You okay?" Sheik let out a snort.

"It has been taken care of."

"Not happy about it?"

"No." It didn't help, Sheik supposed, that he had a nagging suspicion the man knew _Delr _Anjean. Damned Lokomo…

"Well—Pipit!" Link broke off when the Hylian in question came into view, bolting over to him. Sheik followed at a slower pace.

"-Careful, alright? You especially, you hear me?" Pipit added when Sheik was in earshot, shooting him a pointed look.

"I apologize. I will not make the same mistake again. Thank you for your help." Pipit handed him a roll of cloth. Sheik hesitated a moment before unwrapping it. Spells shone on the needles, and the tips had been ground to nubs. He shot Pipit an amused look and put them away, handing back the cloth.

"Wanna go fight?" Link asked. Sheik rolled his eyes, but nodded. He barely had time to sign a goodbye to Pipit before Link was pulling him across the courtyard.

They didn't go to the same practice room as the day before, but Link scribbled on the board just as he had the day before, and pulled the blinds down as well. Sheik fell into a set of warm-ups the Gerudo often used—he had no intention of letting any _Uirah _slip again. Sheik finished first, and he watched Link curiously—Link just used standard exercises.

And an idea came to him.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Link glanced uneasily over his shoulder at Hilda as the Sheikah slammed her car door shut, snapping something at Sheik in what Link figured was Sheikah. Sheik had made him swear to all three Goddesses that he wouldn't tell anyone about what he was teaching him—or that Sheik was teaching him a number of exercises that were supposed to help him be faster when he fought. They weren't Sheikah styles, Sheik had been very clear in saying that, but they were Gerudo, and it _would_ help. Link could barely walk without showing how sore he was—Sheik had hit him if he did something wrong, and the bruises had accumulated—but he did the best he could. Hilda was a the top of the 'do-not-tell' list.

"No!"

"_Iha! Nerehm s hruhn sho uo-"_

"Go home." Link's eyes widened. He hadn't thought Sheik _could_ be so rude. Except to Grayblade, but even Link would admit that Sheik hadn't started that particular mess.

"Sheik!" Hilda shouted, her frustration tangible.

"Nobody wants you here, _helrhnezhatehrn._ Go home." She snapped something back that sounded more like a threat than anything else, and Sheik offered her a dramatic bow before reaching Link's side. His ruby orbs were glittering when they met Link's.

"Go."

"What-?"

"_Before_ she runs us over!" Sheik hissed, shoving him. Link stumbled and then shot forward. He could fully believe Hilda would do so.

The studio itself was a fairly large white building situated just within the borders of Sheikah land, rectangular and blockish in shape. It wasn't anything special to look at—it didn't even have a sign on the outside—but Sheik lit up when he entered it, even though they could hear the engine starting behind them, and Link knew immediately that it was special to him.

"You can set your things down here. No one will bother it." Sheik said softly. The first room was obviously a waiting room of some sort, and Sheik dropped his things down in a chair, pausing only to pull his instrument case out. Link nodded and followed suite, looking around curiously. Besides wooden chairs and waiting tables filled with blank sheet music and magazines and pens, the only decorations were a number of pictures on the wall. One of them had had a picture of-

"Holy shit. Sheik, that's you isn't it?" Link had to ask. While the boy in the picture looked a lot like Sheik, he had darker hair and paler skin.

"Ah, yes. Why?"

"'Cause that's-What exactly do you do here?" Link demanded. Sheik looked surprised.

"I am a _nhaveh_. I offer critique when asked, but I usually draw the magic out of the music. Why?"

"Dear Farore, you're lucky Ashei isn't here. She's obsessed with the _Dungeon Bros_." Link snorted, shaking his head. Sheik laughed softly.

Link hadn't realized how big of a hand the Sheikah played in music.

Everybody knew not to make recordings of yourself and put it on the internet—Hylian magic was intimately tied with music, and even Link (being as thick as a brick when it came to magic) could make the faucets explode when he sang (which was probably because he had a terrible voice, though Aryll protested violently). Everyone could do it, but if you were going to make a career out of it, you had to get a Sheikah to pull the magic _out_ before you could do anything beyond live performances. It took away from the quality of music, but it prevented any world-ending disaster.

"So that's what you're doing tonight?"

"Hylians cannot take magic _from_ a song, though you _can_ lower the levels of power in it. We can. That is what I will do with Mamamu Yan. I hope that it will not take long."

"…Alright. Cool. Mind if I watch while I get this ready?" Sheik nodded quickly, and Link pulled a pen and a notebook out of his bag. There wasn't really much to get ready—he planned on just going through the alphabet—but he didn't want to bother Sheik, and watching would at least offer some sort of distraction.

"Yes. That would be fine. Come." Sheik turned and led Link down a hall, a multitude of doors leading off into what Link figured were recording booths. Sheik showed him into one.

It was a small room filled with electrical equipment, with a large window showing into a slightly larger room furnished with more equipment and chairs. Arguing with a short, squat Sheikah was a tall, heavy Hylian woman. Sheik murmured something Link didn't catch, and Link closed the door behind him before plopping down in an empty chair. The argument broke off when the adults noticed them.

The Sheikah snarled something that made Sheik laugh as he waddled out of the room, entirely ignoring Link's presence. The Hylian woman, however, was a different story.

"Thank the Three. I have had it with incompetent-who is this?" She wasn't hostile, Link supposed, but she wasn't nice about it either. Sheik slipped in front of Link before she could advance.

"He will not interfere. Ignore him."

Sheik shot him an apologetic look as he ushered the woman into the recording booth. Link didn't say a word until Sheik stopped fiddling with the equipment and turned to him.

"We can speak now—she cannot hear."

"What in Farore's name? She's a _dick._" Sheik let out a soft laugh, placing his instrument case on his lap and opening it.

"She does not enjoy the company of others."

"Jeez. That autograph is out of the question. Ashei's gonna kick my ass tomorrow." Link groaned, letting his head fall back against the wall behind him as he closed his eyes. Sheik let out a soft hum, and, and a second later link heard an instrument.

Sheik only played a few notes, but it was a beginning of a song, and the power charging those chords ached in Link's bones painfully.

"_Damn_. I'm going to go wait out there. I can't…damn." Shock, guilt, flashed through Sheik's eyes. Link shook his head before he could say anything. He was physically shaking, felt slightly nauseous. His bruises were suddenly flaring in agony. He hadn't been hit that hard by magic since…

_No._

"It's fine. I shoulda figured this would happen. Sorry. Come get me when you're done, 'kay?"

"I am sorry…"

"No big deal. I brought a book. I don't do well with magic anyway. If I'd have been thinking I'd have mentioned it earlier—I'm the one who's sorry. I'll be fine." Link forced himself to grin, shrugging as he got to his feet and walked out the door.

On the bright side, he didn't collapse until he was in the waiting room.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

"I'm not sure I understand." Link said slowly, blinking at Sheik slowly. Sheik felt his face flush and he leaned back, staring in frustration at the Hylian. He'd abandoned his cowl when Mamamu Yan had left, which had, thankfully, been shortly after arriving, and his scowl was entirely visible.

"I do not understand any of it. Why are the Nayru-cursed things even _needed?"_ Link took it in stride, which Sheik appreciated more than words could express.

"So, each letter represents a sound, and we put a bunch of them together to make a word. Some of them make multiple sounds. There's a song." Sheik took it back. Link just found the whole amusing.

"Don't the Sheikah have a written language?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, but not like this. This is just _stupid_." Link stared at him for a moment, and Sheik scowled at him.

"How's it like? Show me an example." Sheik stared at him blankly for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

Did he really expect…? Well, he'd already seen his schedule. And all it would take was one word…

Before he could think, Sheik grabbed Link's pen and notebook, and drew a single character. When he was done, he dropped the pen on the pad and slid it over to Link, scowling deeper than before.

"…Holy Farore, is this one letter?"

"No. It is a word."

"Just one?" Link demanded, aghast.

"What does it mean?" His look of absolute horror did not diminish, and Sheik felt his amusement threatening to bubble free.

"Ah, a book. Specifically, a Hylian boy's very long book, which he does not enjoy in the slightest."

"You're making this up. And don't be mean."

"No."

"How can you tell?!"

"The curve and the length of the lines, the number of them-" Sheik cut himself off, eyes widening in horror. Just because he was frustrated there was no excuse to be so _stupid_. If anything it was more of a reason _not _to be. Link didn't notice, thankfully.

"Fucking—alright, that explains a lot. Look, you're over thinking it. This is hard as fuck, and Hylian is easy as shit. 'Kay? Our letters have nothing to do with any of that. It's just a sound, part of a word. It's super simple." Sheik narrowed his eyes.

"Then there is no reason for such a simplified child's game to be so _hard!_"

Link burst out laughing.

"Did you just call it a game? Stop being so difficult. Here, I'll write the alphabet out and you can practice copying it down or whatnot."

"I am beginning to hate you, Link Elne."

"I hope not. I still have to convince you to never bring me here again and take me home tonight, 'cause I couldn't find my way down the driveway of this place in broad daylight." Sheik rolled his eyes and dragged his back onto the table, letting out a huff of annoyance as he began shuffling through his things. He wasn't an unorganized person, but he'd been so frustrated with learning Hylian that he had thrown his belongings in a heap and hadn't taken care of them like he was should have.

Eventually he found what he was looking for, but not before Link had finished his scribbling hand put away his own things, leaving only a piece of paper on the table for Sheik. He gave the object a half-hearted glare before tucking it away and showing Link what he'd been looking for.

"I'm hungry, but there's no way in Hyrule I'll ever eat that." Link said flatly, shaking his head.

It took Sheik a moment to realize what Link meant, and he renewed his glare, signing annoyance.

"If you tried to eat this, you would die a very painful death. Deku nuts are fatal to all but the Kokiri."

"So why are you carrying a bunch of them around in your _backpack?_" Link demanded.

"They are how you will get home."

"I'm not going to eat them!"

"That is not what they are for!"

"Good, 'cause I'm not eating them. And who are the Kokiri, anyway?" Not _again._

"Get your belongings." Sheik ordered, zipping up his own backpack. Link rolled his eyes, but obeyed. Sheik glanced at him, suddenly worried.

Link was, Sheik suspected, highly sensitive to Sheikah magic. When he'd healed himself the girl, Karane, had only known he'd done it because Link had reacted so strongly. Judging by how shaky how he'd been, looking almost physically ill, even the slightest amount could cause major problems—and Sheik had used only the smallest amount of magic to heal himself the day before. Link still wasn't fully recovered, though he was trying to pretend he was. He looked abnormally pale and his hands trembled slightly when they weren't clasped beneath the table.

And using the Deku nut could, potentially, worsen that.

But it wasn't Sheikah magic, it was of the _Elne_. And, considering the connection between the place and Link's surname…

Sheik decided he'd experiment. Granted, he wasn't letting Link know exactly what he was doing, but _still_.

Sheik rolled a Deku nut around in his fingers, glancing at Link.

"Are you ready?"

"Yup."

"I need you to think of where you want to go—home, correct? Hold that image in your head. I will direct the magic to you, but I will accompany you to make certain you get there safely." Link stared, then blinked.

"Yeah, alright. I got this. How are we going to do this?" Sheik took Link's wrist carefully, stepping closer. The more distance between those traveling, the more issues there were in the travel itself. Deku nuts were usually only used for single person travel. Link stiffened, and Sheik couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped him.

"Visualize your home." Sheik ordered, carefully clearing his own mind—the Deku nut could only latch onto one location clearly without them ending up halfway to Lake Hylia.

"I'm doing it." Without another word, Sheik slammed the Deku nut on the ground between their feet. The resounding crack deafened him, as its accompanying flash of brilliant white light blinded him. Link stumbled into him, and Sheik hit something hard—a wall. His sight came back to him a moment later.

They were in a hallway, the floor covered in matted blue carpet and the walls a plain cream. And Sheik was being slowly but surely crushed to death by a Hylian. He turned, nudging Link's chest hard with his shoulder.

"Holy _Farore_." His hearing had returned. That was good. Link's natural magic had amplified the Deku nut's stunning properties—which was peculiar. That was what the _Kokiri_ did.

"Will you please stop trying to squish me to death, Link?"

"Wha—_oh_! Sorry, Sheik!" Link stumbled back like he was on fire, his back hitting the wall opposite Sheik. Sheik's lips twitched into a smile, and he cocked his head, signing amusement. Link's speech was slower than it should have been, but only by a hair—and any lingering effects of the Deku nut should disappear within a few moments.

"Is this it?"

"Ah, yeah. Damn. Well, I'm not sure this is the right _floor_, but…damn." Link looked absolutely blown away by the fact that the Deku nut had worked—he touched the wall behind him briefly, and looked around with wonder clear in his eyes. He was so like a child, Sheik thought.

"How are you going to get home?" His speech wasn't affected any longer. Sheik raised a hand, fingers uncurling enough to show the presence of a second Deku nut clutched within.

"Please do not speak of this. To anyone. The Elders would be very…upset if they knew." It looked as if Sheik had been successful in conveying the seriousness of his words, if the sudden grave expression that fell over Link's face was any indication.

"Alright. Well, see you tomorrow." He replied, his tone far from a little awkward.

"And you as well." He murmured, dropping the Deku nut.

Sheik's curiosity about the Hylian was entirely aroused. There were too many oddities, inconsistencies, with him. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about it, though. Link was incredibly attentive—so much so that he would notice the instant Sheik tried to dig for information. And if he brought it up to Impa, the Elders would panic. What exactly was he supposed to do?

Sheik cursed violently when he fell into a bush just outside the door of Impa's house.

_Damn_ the Hylian!

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Link raked a hand through his hair and stumbled down the stairs in an impressive display of clumsiness, still trying to shake off the ache in his bones. He had no idea how Sheik could _stand_ such powerful magic. It physically _hurt_. And that Deku nut—was that what Sheik had called it?—hadn't helped. It was disorienting, but at least it didn't throb.

Link was ninety percent sure he was developing a migraine.

They had landed a floor above his, which meant he'd probably woken Niko from his nap when he'd hit the wall, if he hadn't alerted the entire building to his presence. Hopefully Fanadi had fallen asleep again, and, if he was extremely lucky, Aryll was already asleep.

He fumbled for his key when he reached his apartment, cursing softly under his breath when he put it in the wrong way. Before he could even fit it in for a second try, the door swung open.

"Was that you?" Fanadi demanded. Link stared at her blankly for a moment before he realized she meant the magic Sheik had used to bring them home, but by the time that had happened she'd already ushered him inside and closed the door.

"Sort of. My friend did it. To—why in Farore's name couldn't he just _drive?_" Link groaned, dropping onto the couch. Fanadi bustled away, clucking disapprovingly as her beads clattered noisily.

The apartment wasn't all that big, but it was comfortable—more importantly, it was home. The door opened into a joined living room and kitchen, mostly separated by a counter. A short hall with two bedrooms and a bathroom edged off to the back. He sat on the couch—there was a love seat and an armchair, along with the television and DVD stand. Aryll's telescope sat folded up beside the window, curtains drawn over it. Not much had changed in the years after his grandmother's death. Aryll made sure of that.

"Shad cannot work magic such as that, Link."

"No, not Shad. Sheik. Do you think he even has his license?"

"A Sheikah?" Fanadi sounded shocked.

"Ah, yeah. He's the kid from the graveyard. Can Sheikah _get_ driver's licenses?"

"Yes. What were you doing out so late with him, Link?" Fanadi pressed, coming over to him and pushing a cup into his hands.

"Can't read Hylian. Asked me for help. And holy F—fudge. Do the all always use so much magic, Fanadi?" Link asked, glancing at her as he experimentally sniffed the pale brown liquid in his cup. It didn't smell too bad—it reminded him of the incense she was forever burning—but he knew better than to sip at it. He tilted his head back and downed it all in one swallow, wincing as it burned the back of his throat. There weren't any dregs—there never were, because Fanadi was magic like that.

Almost immediately the lingering pain vanished.

"There was not much power used, dear." Fanadi said it carefully. Link froze, looking at her.

"I would ask that boy to stop using magic so close to you. Truth is not always kind-" Link felt himself stiffening.

"-especially not to Hylians. You may be reacting with the boy's power. Speak to him about it." Fanadi patted his knee, her eyes crinkling at the movement. He wasn't sure how to respond to that—not that he ever was. She took his teacup back from him and made her way back into the kitchen.

Fanadi had been very close friends with his grandmother—they'd grown up together. She lived in the apartment beside theirs, and usually babysat Aryll when Link couldn't get home in time or went to Castle Town in the spring. She was a fortune-teller, and her visions were never wrong. Clarity wasn't her strong suite, but Link knew to take anything she said very seriously even if he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"_Brother!"_ Aryll's voice started him, and his head snapped up as she bolted into the living room, a blue blur. She tackled him, sending him crashing into the arm of the couch.

"Why are you so late? It's a school night! Did you have fun? Who were you with?" Her voice was bright and very obviously not sleepy. She wasn't even in her pajamas, Link realized, belatedly wrapping her in a hug far looser than the one she was giving him.

It was almost _ten._

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"Aunt Nadi an' me did a se-séance!"

"The Great Fairies are beginning their migration. Aryll helped me contact one, dear. It is nothing to worry about." Fanadi drawled, when he shot her a glare.

"Yeah! She was pretty and she had a blue dress, and—"

"Aryll, go to bed."

"Who were you with? What were you doing?" She demanded, scrambling off of him and perching on the couch beside him, wide blue eyes expectant as she stared up at him. She was ten, and her wispy blonde hair was, as it usually was, pulled up into matching pigtails one the sides of her head. She had a long blue shirt on and white shorts—they were her favorite colors.

"My friend, Sheik. I was teaching him how to read."

"How old is he?" Aryll asked, her face scrunching up.

"My age."

"And he can't read? Is he slow like—"

"No. Don't be mean, Aryll. He's Sheikah, and he doesn't know how to read or write Hylian, so he asked me to help teach him." Aryll blinked at him slowly for a minute.

"You're friends with a _Sheikah_? Is it true that they're stalfos? Can they do weird magic? Do they really keep dead animals as pets?" She asked eagerly, clutching his arm.

"No, yes, and no, but Sheik has a Poe that follows him around everywhere. Now c'mon. It's bed time."

"But-!"

"No. You should have been in bed hours ago."

"_I_ met a Great Fairy! That's more important than-"

"No it isn't." Link deadpanned, scooping her up and swinging her over his shoulder.

The movement jostled almost every bruise Sheik had given him, and he let out a curse as pain shot through his limbs—especially his ribs, which had been Sheik's favorite spot to stab at. Fanadi's sharp gaze snapped to him, which he studiously ignored as he began marching to Aryll's room.

"No fair! You're too big!" Aryll protested, wriggling. All the training he'd gone through and he still couldn't get a firm grip on her—thankfully, she didn't slip out until he'd entered her bedroom and had her positioned so she'd fall onto her bed. Her room was, predictably, a mess. Less so than his, but it was still a sight to see.

"Is your friend Sheik nice?" Aryll asked, obediently wriggling under the covers. Link raked a hand through his hair, absently nodding as he began kicking piles of stuff around, looking for Aryll's stuffed Kikwi.

"…Ah, yeah. Kind of strange, but he's nice. Really awkward. And he's got a friend who looks just like me, just with red eyes and black hair." Aryll's eyes grew round, and Link let out a triumphant cry, yanking her Kikwi out from behind the radiator. He doubted he'd ever understand how she got the thing stuck back there—it was _not_ by _any_ means small.

"Really? Are you twins?"

"No, he's Sheikah. But we look like twins." He sighed, dropping down on the foot of her bed. Aryll pulled the covers up around her chin—he hadn't gotten her in her pajamas, he realized. He discarded the thought a second later. It didn't really matter. It was one more excuse to put off doing the laundry, he supposed.

"Do you think maybe Dad had another kid and he's our _brother?"_ Aryll's words stunned him for a moment.

She rarely ever mentioned their father, probably because she knew how he felt about the man, but when she did it was always flippantly—wondering something aloud about how maybe their father was an alien and lived in the stars like the creatures Romani was always talking about, or how maybe he was a secret undercover agent for the Sheikah and he couldn't come see them because he couldn't put them in any danger. Childish fantasies, nothing more. She'd never met him, and Link supposed it was easier to imagine that he was a hero instead of—well….what he was.

It took Link a moment to recover regardless.

"Not at all. Did you have fun today?"

"Uh, _yeah!_ I talked to a _Great Fairy!"_ Link laughed, more at relief that she wasn't pushing the subject, and stuffed the Kikwi under the blankets beside her.

"That's good. Well, sweet dreams, 'kay?" He murmured, ruffling her hair.

"Can I meet your friend?"

"No." It was an automatic reaction.

"But-"

"Good night, Aryll."

"You're _mean!"_

_"_You're annoying." He huffed back, flicking off her light and closing her door firmly behind him.

"Take your shirt off." Fanadi demanded, pointing at the couch as soon as he reemerged into the living room. He scowled at her, but obeyed. She sucked in a sharp breath the moment he pulled the fabric over his head.

"Is it that bad?" He asked, tossing his shirt onto the armchair.

"You really could not tell?" She replied dubiously, harshly jabbing his side.

"_Ow!" _He snapped, slapping at her hand. She slapped him back.

"Who did this?"

"Sheik was teaching me—"

"This Sheikah?! Boy, you—"

"It's not like that! I asked him to show me some pointers and he's kind of a mean teacher! It's _fine!_ I was worse when Grayblade first started teaching me, it'll be fine. Stop it!" He wriggled away from her and grabbed his shirt, yanking it back on. She fretted more than Gran had. Gran would have told him to toughen the fuck up and stop screwing up, then dragged him to one of her witch friends to heal him. Fanadi just panicked.

"Link-"

"I'm _fine._ Go to bed, Fanadi. I'll see you tomorrow. 'Night." He sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead before stumbling back down the hall to his room.

He was unconscious before his head hit his pillow.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

**So. Update. You get a shot into Link's home life (See? No bridges!). And the studio. x3**

**Anyway, I'm really thankful for all the support this story has gotten-you guys are the best, and it means a whole lot that you're taking the time out of your day to review and read this and such. Thank you! All of you!**

**Next chapter? ROAD TRIP! (Sort of).**


	6. Chapter 6

"Keep your arms steady." Sheik murmured, moving slowly into another position. Link tried to copy him quickly—and promptly tumbled to the ground with a yelp of surprise. Sheik laughed softly, and Link let out a huff of air.

"What's this supposed to do, exactly?"

"These exercises will build your endurance and your strength, and when you are comfortable with this stage we will progress into other exercises that will increase your speed and your reflexes, your reaction time and the like. You are doing well. Better than I would have expected, in any case. Your training up until this point has served you well." Link wasn't sure whether it was a compliment or an insult, something he was getting used to the longer he spent around Sheik. It was never intentional—Hilda, he'd learned, was _always_ intentional when she said something like that.

"Sheik, do you think after I graduate, if I went to the Sheikah they'd mentor me?" That made Sheik laugh outright.

"Link, we did not even mentor the Hero of Time when he woke from the Sleep of Ages, and the fate of the entirety of Hyrule rested on his shoulders. He was thrown at the feet of the Black King untrained and untested."

"You really risked that much just 'cause you didn't want to train the savior of Hyrule—who, by the way, was therefore the savior of the Sheikah?"

"We were already dying. The Hero of Time rose shortly after the Great Betrayal." Sheik said it distantly, and Link pushed himself up. Sheik was leaning against one of the practice room's walls, ruby eyes gazing off at something Link couldn't see.

"I'm sorry." He had never been very good at history, but even he knew about the Great Betrayal.

The Sheikah had sworn to protect the Royal Family at, it was fabled, the beginning of time. Supposedly the first Sheikah had been very close to the first member of the Royal Family, and had sworn to aide, support, and protect them at all costs. As such the race took its duty very seriously—like nowadays, working as a military force to protect all of Hyrule from dangers. But they were mysterious, and powerful, and dangerous. Just before the Age of Time, and the Hero of Time's journey, one of the old Kings of Hyrule—Link could never remember the bastard's name—had grown to fear them, and had ordered them massacred. The Royal Guard, the only people trained by Sheikah, had been the ones to enter their central village under the pretense of peace. Just before dawn that night, they'd armed themselves and massacred every Sheikah in the village. It had almost wiped out the entire race. The Sheikah had colored the tear on their symbol, the Eye of Truth, red afterwards.

"…It is not your fault. The Sheikah bear the weight of our ancestry heavily on our shoulders. We are not permitted to forget, and are made to remember and learn from the past. The…masks and the cowls are a product of that."

"What d'ya mean?" Sheik blinked, refocusing on him.

"It is to hide our emotions and feelings from our enemies. Other Sheikah always know what another is feeling, but a stranger and an enemy would not. We did not hide how much we trusted the…Hylians before the Great Betrayal. If you do not know how we feel about you, you do not have an advantage. That is where the 'cold' stigma comes from." Sheik added dryly, though his eyes remained dark. Link wasn't sure what to say to that. The Sheikah seemed very traditional—to the point where it was ridiculous. Link could understand them having trust issues—after everything they'd gone through they were entitled to it—but it had been _so long ago_, and making their children suffer through the problems it had caused millennia later was insane. Probably wasn't healthy, either.

"Why didn't you just leave Hyrule? Why keep trying to project them, after everything they'd done to you guys?"

"We swore an oath to the Goddesses. To betray that would…" Sheik trailed off, suddenly scowling at Link. His cowl hung around his throat, as it had been since they'd started practicing.

"Have you ever promised Farore something? That if some event did or did not occur you would pray more, or longer, or harder, or do some task?"

"…Yeah."

"Have you ever broken that promise?"

"…No." Link said slowly, surprised as he thought back. He wasn't very devout, all things considering, and he rarely prayed to Farore, let alone Din or Nayru—but he couldn't recall an instance in which he'd ever _not_ fulfilled his promises. Sheik caught his questioning gaze, then rolled his eyes.

"You Hylians are so _blind_. You make a promise with Farore _herself_. Not just an idea or a concept or a nonexistent force. She expects you to uphold your end of the bargain."

"So your oath's kind of like that?"

"The Three can be merciful when they wish to be, but they have no leniency towards traitors. That, more than anything, is why we were so close to demise at the end of the Great Betrayal. Many of us chose to leave, and thereby broke their oaths." Link frowned, scooting over to Sheik.

"But, then, why are you here if you can't leave?"

"Because I have not sworn my oaths yet, not officially. Either during or after this _Rheshae_ I will swear them, and the matter will be closed. "

"So you don't swear them until you're sure?" Sheik nodded, met Link's gaze, his crimson orbs narrowed and dangerous.

"If you ever tell Hilda anything I have said to you, or mention to _anyone _any of this, I will be obligated to kill you." Despite the fact Sheik's voice was entirely serious and his demeanor entirely cold, Link burst out laughing.

"I know, I know. Sorry. I'm just curious. Shad says I'm a natural pain in the ass. If it'll get you in trouble or something, just don't talk about it." Sheik scowled even deeper at him—he'd been doing that a lot, actually.

"Shad is correct. Should I not explain things to you, you will not drop it. It is easier this way."

"Why does that sound like an insult?" Sheik let out a soft sound of amusement, and pushed himself to his feet.

"Come, Link. Back into the second position."

"Or we could work on your—"

"Up."

"Oh, c'mon! You're doing so much better than you were before."

"Get up, Link."

"Tyrannical Sheikah."

"Lazy Hylian."

"Hey-!" The door swung open, cutting Link's protest off.

Ravio's mop of black hair poked into the room, and he grinned when he saw Link. It was eerie, seeing his face staring back at him with red eyes and black hair, and no matter how nice Ravio was, Link didn't think it was something he would ever get over. It was just so disconcerting—and Aryll's comment last week hadn't made things any better, honestly. He couldn't look at Ravio without that thought niggling at the back of his head.

_Damn Aryll._

"Sheik, are you gonna make this a thing? Hiding my Hylian every time I go looking for him?"

And then there was _that._

"Do not harass him, Ravio."

"Can you stop calling me that?" Link asked, scrambling to his feet. Ravio smirked.

"Well it's _true_."

"Ravio, _uo e hzivra._" The Sheikah language, Link had learned, was a very soft language. It was quiet and lyrical and sounded sort of like a song—at least it did when Sheik spoke. Even if he was angry, Link could hear the faint threads of magic humming in his voice.

"Wh-_Oh!_ I don't mean it in a sexual way! Bleh. No, I'm engaged. It's a-"

"_Ravio."_

_"_-never mind. It's just a joke. Where I come from, anyway. You Hylians and your-"

"_Ravio!"_ Sheik all but yelped, looking at Ravio in horror as his hands moved jerkily. Ravio glanced at him, mouth open, then blushed crimson and closed his mouth.

"Sorry. I'll just go now. Just wanted to tell you that we're coming over tonight. Impa says it's a family dinner."

"Do you need a way out?" Link asked, glancing at Sheik uncertainly. He wasn't sure whether he was out of line or not, but Sheik did not look pleased. His eyes widened and he looked at Link, fingers moving frantically for a moment.

"Please?"

Ravio doubled over, laughing.

"Shad's going to Ordon to go to some book store and he doesn't want to go alone. So, you know, it'll be a good place for practicing and Shad's there to help you."

"I do not want to intrude—"

"Ashei won't go and I can't. He'll be glad. C'mon, we'll go find him. His only other option was Auru anyway, and Auru hates going to places like that." Link said, shaking his head as he stood.

"Places like what? Is a book store a code word for something?"Ravio demanded, eyes wide as saucers.

"What the fuck is with you?! No!" Sheik, at least, smacked Ravio upside the head for his comment. Link couldn't speak—he was too horrified by what Ravio had implied.

Sheik let out a defeated sigh and locked gazes with Link, tilting his head towards the door. Link nodded and followed him, circumnavigating Ravio entirely.

He was such an awkward person, even more so than Sheik. But, at least he seemed happy.

"Is he really engaged?" Link asked it quietly, once they were safely halfway down the hall and venturing deeper into the school to find Ezlo's classroom. Sheik let out a soft laugh.

"Yes. He and Hilda have been engaged since before she left for the Gerudo with me." Link was quiet for a second before responding to that.

"That actually explains a lot." He'd run into the two of them a few days ago in the bathroom—Farore knew why they chose the boy's bathroom—making out, but at least they'd had all their clothes on. He'd been scared to ask, seeing as how as soon as Hilda had seen him she'd told him if he said anything she would kill him.

"Does it?" Sheik seemed confused.

"Promise you'll practice tonight with Shad?"

"What?"

"On the drive."

"_Link." _For all the professionalism and the propriety Sheik carried himself with, he still whined like any other teenager. Link grinned.

"I had to practice today, so do you!"

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Sheik stared directly at Shad for a solid minute, just assessing, before coming to a decision. The Hylian didn't notice—just continued packing his belongings into the trunk of his car, entirely absorbed in the task.

He wasn't very happy that Link had just sort of left him with the other boy, and he was incredibly uncomfortable with the situation. The only reason he hadn't just gone home was because the thought of having a 'family dinner' was worse than being stuck with a virtual stranger for the rest of the night, and trusting said stranger to get him home relatively safely.

Impa never gave up on her attempts to get his siblings to stop being…well, _not. _Sheik loathed it when she did—hence the running away.

"I'm sorry if Link dragged you into this."

"He did not. I do not want to go home tonight, and he offered this as an excuse to not do so."

"Why? Got relatives coming over or something?" Shad probably meant it as a joke, but Sheik's humor was black as Malladus' tended to be.

"You could say that." He snorted, signing dryness as he opened the passenger side door. Shad slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, while Sheik dropped heavily onto the seat and closed the door.

"Are you alright?"

"I am fine." He murmured, settings his bag between his feet and unzipping it, searching for his notebook as Shad pulled out of the student's parking lot.

"Thanks for coming, Sheik. Have you ever been to Ordon?" Sheik hesitated before shaking his head. All he knew about Ordon was its role in the War of Twilight. The Sheikah had not been able to help Hyrule in that battle, as Twilit magic was far too similar to Sheikah magic, but they had managed to prevent it from swallowing Ordon—the home of the Hero of Light—thereby allowing the boy to wait until he was ready before setting out on his quest.

"Not that I recall. It is a small town, is it not?"

"Uh, yeah. Way smaller than Kakariko. More like a village, honestly, but they have this bookstore there that's the best thing ever. It's got a lot of used books but there's also a ton of really cool knickknacks." Any good feeling Sheik had had about his progress with Hylian whooshed out of him in one big breath.

"What is that?"

"What's—knickknacks? Oh, sorry." Shad blushed a brilliant red, ducking his head slightly.

"It's, ah, small random objects, I guess. I can't think of any other way to describe them. When you go into a shop and it's got a bunch of random stuff everywhere?" It was phrased more as a question than a statement, but Sheik understood, and he nodded quickly.

"Before I forget, I promised Link that I would ask you to help me with my Hylian. I am not sure how we would go about it, but he made it very clear that if he had to practice I had too." Shad laughed.

"I thought you couldn't teach outsiders any Sheikah stuff?"

"I am not. I am teaching him Gerudo methods—which are available for anyone to learn, so long as the Gerudo deem them worthy."

"And did they 'deem' him worthy?" Shad asked, sounding bemused.

"I see no reason why they should not. He is more skilled than anyone they have taught in the past. Frankly, I am surprised he did not seek out their guidance sooner."

"There aren't many Gerudo living in Kakariko, besides descendants of old settlers. Kakariko has a strange history anyway. It went from a Sheikah village to a Hylian village to a Gerudo village to a Terminian village to what it is now, and so it's kind of just a mess of all the different cultures too, so anything Link could find would be so distorted it wouldn't matter." Sheik rolled his eyes at that, but didn't respond—really, if it was an entirely new style of battle, it could easily give one a great advantage over their opponent. Mixing styles was smart—it was what Sheik did.

And Link. Sheik tried to pretend like he hadn't noticed that Link had, almost immediately after fighting him, adapted some of Sheik's fighting behavior to his own style. He moved quicker now, if only marginally.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"I cannot promise I will answer." Sheik said dryly, glancing at Shad as he signed amusement. The Hylian's blue eyes met his for a moment before he returned his gaze to the road.

"You and Hilda have the same kind of earrings-the hoops on one ear and the studs on the other. Are you just pretending you have style or does it have actual meaning?"

"That is the worst joke I have ever heard." That, mercifully, made Shad laugh.

"But, yes. The loops represent the _Rheshae _we pass without leaving the Sheikah. Red for Gerudo, blue for Hylian, and purple when we pass our adult Ceremony. The studs represent the fighting styles we master. I have only the blue and purple loop left to attain." It wasn't anything important—if anything, if the information got out it would only worry anyone thinking about using the information to their gain. Most Sheikah earned both their studs before they began their _Rheshae._

"And Hilda's got all her stuff but the blue?"

"Technically, they are supposed to go in order, but…" Sheik trailed off, shrugging, and Shad nodded slowly.

"I want you to know I'm not going to go tell anyone any of this. I know how important that is to your people and I'm really honored that you're even telling me that much."

"As long as you never breathe a word of it to anyone. Hilda will do worse than kill me should she find out." Sheik murmured, leaning his head back against the seat as he looked out the window.

Eldin Springs was located near the edge of Kakariko, and they were nearly out of the town by that point. Sheik eyed the trees around them curiously—Kakariko did not support much in the ways of farming. Its wealth came from trade with the Gorons and electricity, from wind and water sources. Yet large pines and oaks lined the road, leaves darkening to reds and browns or lightening to yellows and oranges and needles carpeting the dry earth beneath their spreading branches.

"Is she going to be the next Sage?" Sheik blinked slowly, refocusing on Shad before responding.

"Probably, but we do not determine successors like you do. We let Nayru choose." Mostly, anyway. Shad let out a soft 'oh' and fell silent. Sheik fiddled with the radio for a moment before managing to turn the device on, and immediately the soft, slow strains of an orchestral piece began filling the silence of the car. He looked at Shad curiously, and the boy blushed again.

"I like classical, and—"

"No, it is fine. I did not know that Zeffa was so widely known, though." Sheik murmured. Shad's eyes widened.

"You know him?"

"I am a _nhaveh_. I worked with him. Not on this disc, but on his most recent one. He is one of the few artists I have met who does it solely because he wants to and does not worry about the repercussions or what the listeners may think. I like him." Sheik said softly, tapping his fingers against his thigh in time with the song. It felt wrong, to hear it without magic singing alongside the notes, but Sheik didn't let that bother him.

"That's what you do at the studio? How come?" Shad asked, looking startled.

"It is a job assigned to younger Sheikah—sort of like a chore. As Kakariko is primarily the province the Elders reside in, the only Sheikah that fit that description are Ravio, Hilda, and myself. Ravio cannot do the work and Hilda does not enjoy it, while I can and do."

"Do you get paid for it?"

"No." Sheik snorted, shaking his head as he signed amusement.

"So you really just do it 'cause you enjoy it, huh? That's pretty cool."

"What about you?" Sheik asked curiously. He knew Link fairly well by that point—maybe not facts, but he knew enough about what kind of a person he was to feel comfortable around him. Shad was an entirely different story.

"What about me?" Shad asked, laughing.

"I'm Shad Aurum, I have one brother who lives with my mother and I live with my grandfather, Auru, 'cause my parents got divorced when I was twelve. I study magic and history and debate, but I don't really care for debating. I grew up with Link and Ashei, and I only go to the Tournaments to keep an eye on them, make sure they're safe. I like classical music and wasting my time driving to bookstores." Sheik rolled his eyes at him.

"You are defeating the purpose of the question."

"Which would—_oh! _Sorry, sorry, I feel like an ass now. Um, I don't know. Ah, so I grew up here in Kakariko. My grandpa used to work for the Royal Family as their archivist and he came here with my grandma and had my dad. I don't know where Dad is—he's always been obsessed with code, and he can crack just about anything, so when the Sheikah contacted him he took the job right away. It's not 'cause I _can't_ know where he is, he's just…very forgetful and doesn't remember to send a letter or call or anything. So that's why I live with Gramps." Sheik cursed and grabbed the door handle—thank Nayru he'd buckled his seatbelt before they'd left—as Shad turned onto the highway.

"Sorry, I'm not the best driver!" The boy yelped, terrified, as he spun the wheel frantically.

"Just do not kill us!" Sheik yelped—he _really_ should have just gone home.

Shad managed to get to speed without crashing into anything, and by Nayru's grace they found themselves on the highway, alive and in one piece.

The Hylian turned to look at him suddenly, face pale and eyes wide.

"You don't get carsick, do you?"

"You would know by now if I did."

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Shad was shaking when he closed his car's door shut behind him, and Sheik looked like he was going to be sick. He was leaning on the car, head ducked below his arms. They had made it into Ordon perfectly fine, but finding the bookstore—which had conveniently moved since Shad had last visited—among the town's nest of one-way streets and lights and random traffic signs, most of which Shad didn't even recognize, had been another matter.

Deciding to park at the local post office and go from there had been the best idea Sheik had had all night.

"Are you alright?" Shad asked, unable to keep his voice entirely calm as he slowly made his way over to Sheik.

"You are not driving on the way back." Sheik said, unsteadily.

"I can accept that." Shad sighed, leaning against his car beside Sheik.

"Do you know where we are going from here?"

"Um, no? I'm sure we can ask around."

"Damn it—Shad, I did not almost die on our way here only to find out we have _no idea_ where it is we are going." If Sheik had actually been able to sound angry, and not just shaken, it would have been scathing. Shad rolled his eyes at the Sheikah and gestured towards the post office.

"You stay here. I'll go ask someone inside, 'kay?" Sheik just nodded his head slightly, his braid swishing around his back for a second.

"Then we'll go get something to eat, and by then we won't be shaking." Shad was pleased when Sheik laughed at that, lifting his head, and he pushed himself off the car and walked up the sidewalk to the post office. He had seen a fast-food restaurant they could stop in at just up the road.

A bell rang when he entered, and a balding man typing madly at a computer looked up at him for a moment.

"How can I help you?"

"I need directions to Sera's Books and Curiosities."

"And you went into a _post office_ to get them?" Shad just glared at the man, who had gone from friendly to derisive in about two seconds flat.

"Can you tell me where I need to go or not?" The man sniffed, but pointed out the door.

"Straight to your right when you leave here, you'll pass three streets. It's on the fourth street to your right."

"Thanks." Shad had the decency to say, though the man's tone grated on his nerves. He hurried out of the post office—and paused for a moment, blinking in surprise.

Sheik was still leaning against the car, but he was staring emotionlessly at another Sheikah standing beside him. Shad had spent enough time around people who liked to beat the shit out of others to recognize how dangerous Sheik's posture was—he was absolutely still, even for him, and tense. He hurried over to him.

"—_Uo iqueahmn e ll uau vbax." _The venom in the Sheikah's voice was entirely audible even to Shad, though he didn't understand a word of what was being said. The other Sheikah appeared to be a girl a year or two older than them, dressed in the same sort of Sheikah armor Shad had seen in his textbooks. Her hair was cut short around her ears, though it was clumped together in a number of small braids.

"You alright, Sheik?" Sheik's gaze flickered to him and he cocked his head slightly, then turned his gaze to the other Sheikah.

"You should watch yourself. You have already made two mistakes. Do not make a third." For a heartbeat Shad was entirely convinced Sheik was talking to him, and he very nearly had a heart attack. He'd never heard Sheik sound so cold, so damn _terrifying_. Then Sheik pushed himself off the car, shouldering his bag, and nodded to him. The Sheikah girl hissed something at him Shad couldn't make heads or tails off, and he bowed shallowly at her, mockingly.

"Do you know where we are going?"

"Um, yeah. This way." Shad congratulated himself on sounding not scared at all. He had, he was learning the longer he hung out with Sheik, a better control of himself than he'd first thought he did.

Which was good, actually, because this year at the Tournaments, he _swore_ he wasn't going to psych himself out before he got to Princess Zelda. Ashei wanted to win, Link wanted to have fun—Shad's goal was to face the Princess. Didn't matter if he won or lost, he wanted to see how his power measured up against hers. She was, after all, the Link of magical duels. Facing her in combat would be the highest honor Shad could achieve, Tournament-wise.

"Do the Sheikah have any dietary restrictions?" Shad asked, as the thought occurred to him. He glanced back at Sheik, using the movement as an excuse to check on the other Sheikah. The woman was storming off to Farore-knew-where, leaving his car alone. _Good._

_"_We are not allowed to ingest drugs and alcohol is prohibited for those below the age of thirteen, but I do not believe that will interfere with anything you have in mind." Shad couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He'd heard that some countries had age restrictions on alcohol, like Termina, but he hadn't thought it was an actual thing in Hyrule. Alcohol was too commonly used in cooking and religious festivals, and the accident rates were lower than those in other countries, like Termina, so no one worried about it.

Not that there was anything to worry about, anyway. It was left to the owner of a store or restaurant as to who they'd serve alcohol to, age-wise.

"No, that should be fine. Just know that it's as unhealthy as eating a Moblin." Sheik's eyes scrunched up, and Shad stared at him curiously or a moment before he realized that Sheik was pulling a face under his cowl.

"If it tastes that bad why in Hyrule are we going there to eat?"

"It tastes good, it's just not healthy. Sorry. Really bad joke. Won't do it again." Shad wasn't insulted—he just laughed as he spoke.

Sheik was, actually, better company than Link. Link was distant—had been since the incident—and though he said he'd be there if Shad or Ashei needed him, he didn't hang out with them at all unless they were sitting around class or at lunch. Sheik was really bringing him out of his self-imposed isolation, and even if Link was only talking to Sheik, Shad was grateful for it. He needed someone.

"And Link says it will not be long before I understand your language." Sheik snorted, pinching the bridge of his nose. Shad laughed, and they came up on the entrance to the restaurant. They gathered a few strange looks, but got their food and an out-of-the-way table without any trouble. That was very good. Stigma about the Sheikah hadn't changed in centuries—and it wasn't very good on the Hylian side. It wasn't as bad as to breed violence, usually, but Shad was still on pins and needles anyway.

"This looks disgusting." Sheik deadpanned, unwrapping his burger. Shad snickered and grabbed his own burger and fries, along with his milkshake.

"Close your eyes and eat it. It's not that bad."

"We are lucky Marin is not here." Sheik murmured, slowly setting his food down and wiping his fingers on a napkin before yanking down his cowl.

"How so?" Shad asked, taking a bite. Sheik scowled his sandwich briefly.

"The Hylians have ears with which to Hear all, the Sheikah have eyes with which to See all, and the Gerudo have tongues with which to Speak. How do you not know this?" He sounded disgusted, but judging by the way he was glaring at his food, that had little to do with Shad's ignorance.

"Wait, what? So what does that have to do anything?"

"Gerudo have heightened taste." Sheik said, raising an eyebrow at him. Before Shad could respond, he took a bite of the sandwich. Shad was tempted to ask further, but he didn't want to push Sheik—what the hell did Sheik mean? Shad had grown up hearing stories about it, how the Sheikah could see past illusions and, in some rare cases, see All Truth, how the Hylians could hear magic and, in some rare cases, hear the Goddesses themselves, but he'd never heard of the Gerudo or that the sense itself was actually _heightened_, not just blessed.

Sheik pulled a face, swallowed, and took another bite. Shad laughed.

"How is it?"

"Next time I ask how something tastes, lie. Please."

"Can do. I don't suggest going to any of these places with Link—he'll eat six meals and still ask for yours. If you're going to do anything with him just stay at home or something."

"Why would I-?" Sheik began, looking up from his food sharply. Shad flushed,.

"Running around to random places to do your studying stuff isn't gonna help anyone in the long run. Link's got issues with bringing anyone around Aryll, but soon you'll either go to your house or his. Just thought I'd throw that in there-I've seen the guy eat through everything in my house and his _and_ Ashei's before."

Sheik scowled.

"I do not want this to go on for that long. I would like this to be over as quickly as possible."

"How come?" Sheik's eyes darkened, and he mutely shook his head. Rather than answer Shad's question he resumed eating his burger.

"Sorry." Shad murmured, inwardly wincing. He busied himself with his milkshake. Seriously, though, how did Link put up with all this? Just about every conversation topic had a glaring 'I-can't-talk-about-it' stamp on it. It would have been fine if Sheik could _lead_ a conversation, but he was too quiet to do so, and Shad couldn't if he tried.

"…No, I apologize. It…just is not important."

The rest of their meal passed in silence, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as Shad had thought it would be.

"So the _Rheshae_ is about experiencing Hylian culture, right? I know _Lahvyrraen_ is coming up next month, but we have a holiday the day before that I think you'd like, and the school goes all out for it. It kind of requires a lot of, ah, preparation though." Sheik eyed him curiously as they threw their trash out and headed out, Shad fidgeting nervously. It was kind of an awkward thing to bring up, and Shad wasn't sure how he was supposed to describe it, exactly.

"It's a Kakariko thing. Like I said before, Kakariko's got all the different cultures mixed together. I can't remember the specifics of the original holiday, but it got mixed with some stuff from Termina, so now it's what it is. Anyway, everybody gets their hands on a mask, and it has to be different every year, and wears formal wear to this big event at the school. There's no school, and they set up one of Grayblade's really nice gyms for it—kind of like it's a dance—and everybody goes. Not just students, but residents and family and friends and all that. But you have to arrive separately from those who know you, 'cause the whole point is to dance with everybody until you find your friends. If you guess somebody and you're right, they take off their mask for the night and you gotta kiss them. So Link and I are always trying to get to Ashei first." Sheik looked amused, but thoughtful, and Shad took that as a good thing as they began walking towards the bookshop again.

"It will be announced, the exact date and time?"

"Yeah, they send home flyers and stuff. I just wanted to let you know ahead of time 'cause it takes forever to make a good mask. Link can carve pretty well and he always makes one for himself and Aryll, but I've been working on mine since before school started and it's the ugliest thing I've ever seen."

"Do you have to make one?" Sheik ventured, suddenly sounding hesitant.

Shad was glad that Sheik seemed to like the idea. He wanted Sheik to experience more than school during his time there. They had a strange culture, but it was more than just schoolwork and dueling.

"No. Well, I don't suggest buying one, though. How come?" Sheik let out a sigh, and Shad wasn't sure if it was one of relief or disappointment.

"I am just curious. Thank you for telling me, though."

"Sure." Shad replied awkwardly, studying him curiously for a moment.

"We turn here. The shop's somewhere down—there it is!"

Sandwiched between two tall brick buildings was a dusty little pale green shop. It didn't have a sign, but it had two large windows framing its door filled with books and figurines and what Shad figured were antiques.

"Are you sure?"

"It has books in it. I'll take it." Shad responded, pushing Sheik ahead of him. The shorter boy laughed and opened the door, disturbing a bell tied to the top of it.

No one came to greet them, which was fine by Shad. He and Sheik split up and began browsing.

Shad was pleased to discover a number of books he'd been itching to read, along with a couple for his grandfather. It was a small shop and after he'd piled his arms high with texts, he ran into Sheik.

"What are you doing?" Shad asked carefully. Sheik didn't seem to register his presence—he was entirely absorbed in the box in his hands. Shad slowly inched around him—Sheik was just in front of the cash register, where a pudgy Hylian woman sat staring at the both of them with narrowed eyes. _Damn._

"...Will you buy this for me? I will pay you back as soon as we get home, but…"

"Yeah, that's fine. I've gotta drop you off anyway. Hi." Shad directed the last bit at the woman, smiling as he set his items down. Sheik hovered at his shoulder uncertainly for a moment before placing the box on the top of Shad's books.

It didn't look like anything remarkable. It was made out of some sort of dark wood, simple in design except for the top, which—

_Oh._

A strange looking rendition of the Eye of Truth was etched onto its lid, like someone had taken the symbol and stretched it squashed it until it was deformed. Rather than the outline of an iris in the center was a small dot Shad figured to be the pupil, but it was far too small. There didn't appear to be any sort of hinges or clasps to it at tall.

Shad pretended he hadn't seen it and didn't know why Sheik wanted it, and threw all of his focus into purchasing their pile of stuff.

"You boys aren't from around here?" The woman asked, slowly ringing up their items. Shad shook his head.

"No, we came from Kakariko. Ordon has some of the best shops I've ever seen. Castle Town can't hold a flame to this place." He grinned when he said it—it wasn't just to butter her up, he honestly meant it. It seemed to do its purpose though, and she looked very flattered, some of her sourness dropping away. She rang up Sheik's box without even looking at it.

"I'm so glad you think so. Most folk like going to those big name stores." She said it as if it was a bad thing, but Shad just rolled with it, nodding.

"I don't know why. There's nothing better than getting a book with _history_ to it." He rambled, pulling out his wallet and handing her twenty rupees. She printed off his receipt and handed him his bags. Sheik grabbed one and he grabbed the other after he'd stuffed his wallet away.

"Behave yourself, son. Hope to see you again soon."

"I hope to come back soon. Have a good evening." Had she just _winked?_

Sheik waited until they'd left the shop and gone a little ways down the street before laughing.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

"Does it open?" Sheik didn't respond immediately, still running his fingers over the emblem etched onto the lid of the box he'd found at the shop. He didn't understand why something absolutely _throbbing_ with magic would have ended up in Ordon of all places, never mind the fact that it was marked with the Eye of Truth.

He'd heard of Sheikah artifacts being found in Hylian museums and the like, but those incidents had happened _ages_ ago, back before Impa was even born.

That was a vaguely terrifying thought. Impa wasn't old, but she had the same ageless quality to her most Sages did. Sheik couldn't imagine a time where she hadn't been leading the Elders, though he knew full well his grandmother had once done so.

A bright light flashed by, cutting off his train of thought, before darkness again swallowed them. They'd driven in silence for about half an hour, and were now about half an hour from Kakariko—forty five minutes or so from the reservation.

"I do not want to open it now. I do not know what is inside it or how it will react to…our magic." If Link were there Sheik _absolutely_ wouldn't try to open it. Releasing this much magic—for Nayru's sake, even being _near_ something with this much magic would probably incapacitate the Hylian. But with Shad, he was tempted to try it anyway.

"How did it end up in some shop in _Ordon_ of all places, though? Is it even Sheikah?" Sheik hesitated before gently poking the box with a tiny tendril of his own power.

And the blood drained from his face.

"I know I told you to drive safely, but can you please drive as quickly as possible?"

"What's wrong?" Shad asked, concern and alarm painting his face as he turned to look at Sheik, grip tightening around the steering wheel. Sheik closed his eyes, slowly resting his head against the seat.

"There is something dead inside."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNN! :D (BTW, you CAN figure out what's in the box from this chapter. I foreshadow!)**

**So now you know a little bit more about Shad. I really felt like Shad and Sheik needed bonding time. Hence the impromptu road trip. In case no one caught it, the post office scene (because I needed Shad to go away for a few minutes) came about when I saw Link's new costume pack for Hyrule Warriors. It's the least amount of clothes I've seen him in since Twilight Princess xD *coughgolookitupcough*AND THE TP DLC COMES OUT TOMORROW. YES! Midna is BACK. AGAIN. **

**Anyway, because I forgot, in the previous chapter, Hilda basically yells at him to get his ass back home and apologize to Impa. This chapter, the Sheikah (who shall remain nameless) says "You traitors are all alike!"**

**I hope you all enjoyed it, though!**


	7. Chapter 7

Kotake came to see him after _Delr _Midna left, Ganondorf asleep in her arms. She didn't say a word, just slipped the child into his arms and then sat down beside him on his bed.

She was an ancient Gerudo, and with her twin sister Koume, was the spiritual leader of the Gerudo—a position that had earned them the title of Twinrova. Her hair had long ago turned white, and she wore it in a high ponytail like most Gerudo, the blue gem marking her position and power dangling in the center of her forehead. She wore the robes of her position as well, silks etched with Gerudo symbols and designs. She was a small, stooped woman, but her aura of power cowed even Malladus—which was next to impossible.

"Are you alright, boy?" She finally asked, voice dry and rasping in the Gerudo tongue. She had come with Marin from the desert when they had gotten the news. Sheik swallowed, arms tightening around Ganondorf.

"I've seen death before, Grandmother, but _this? _I…" Sheik trailed off, his voice unsteady, and Kotake let him lean his head on her shoulder, tears leaking freely from his eyes.

"You found it and brought it back here. We are identifying the Sheikah, and all of Ordon is in lockdown. You did everything right. And your Hylian friend is cooperating remarkably. He's bright, I'll give him that. We'll have the culprit soon."

"But the _eyes." _Sheik couldn't continue.

He had done some horrible things and seen horrible things, but nothing so bad as that. To take a Sheikah's _eyes?_ What sort of monster would _do _that?

The box had been opened the moment he'd gotten home, by Impa. It might have been a jewelry box at one point, but its white cushions had been stained brown with old blood, and two shriveled ruby eyes had been placed within.

It was even worse than the problem of someone having murdered a Sheikah and not been punished—or even discovered. When Sheik had told Shad that the Sheikah had eyes with which to see all Truth, he had not been lying. Not all Sheikah were born with the ability, and even fewer kept it into their adulthood—he hadn't, though apparently Malladus had one such Seer squirreled away in Ikana. They had been blessed with their ability, a gift from Nayru herself for their service. To take a Sheikah's eyes from them was the single most profane thing that could ever be done to a Sheikah—not only because it was such a symbolic, important thing, but because if one could harness the magic that lingered in a Sheikah's eyes, one could create things that should never be created.

Things that had almost destroyed them, once.

Once, long before the Age of Time, in the midst of the Great Betrayal, a man had tried. With so many Sheikah corpses left rotting around Hyrule, he'd had an ample supply of subjects to work on. He had managed to create three artifacts—the Eye of Truth, a glass through which any non-Sheikah could see past any illusion, the Mask of Truth, a mask through which one could unlock ancient wards the Sheikah had erected around what the Hylians called Gossip Stones and, even more dangerous, the Sheikah Stones, and finally a thing called the Shard of Agony, something that sensed lies and would resonate when near one. They had been used together once, and _that_ was why the Great Betrayal was such an open wound ages afterwards. It had not only nearly wiped out the Sheikah entirely, but had almost undone everything the Sheikah had ever done. Even now its effects were still felt—Girahim, for example, though that at least had turned out alright. Relatively.

The artifacts had each been used separately by the Hero of Time, to save Hyrule and Termina. Afterwards, they had been recovered and destroyed—or locked away, in the case of the Mask of Truth. Even now their magic still lingered in the places they had been destroyed—it was why no one could lie in the Temple of Time, where the Master Sword lay buried, and why the Gerudo could see through the Wastelands—the Eye of Truth's magic had sunken deep into their blood, after generations upon generations of exposure.

Finding these eyes didn't just mean someone out there had killed a Sheikah and gotten away with it. It meant someone had rediscovered the process to make more of those objects, or was close, and some that the man hadn't had time to make before he'd been murdered.

"There were traces of Gerudo blood in there too, boy. Someone is trying to replicate not just your disaster, but create something to use against us. I'll be damned if that's going to happen. So, come. Koume wants us to scry, and only you can convince Ganondorf to lend us his power. Add that to your own and we'll have the bastard by sunrise." Kotake never forced herself to sound cheerful, and she didn't now. But Sheik closed his eyes and nodded, sitting up as he pulled himself together, because her voice had still been certain, still been _sure_.

"The girls are keeping your Elders from doing something stupid, but I suggest we get this done with. Your aunt wants you in school tomorrow." Kotake said, standing and making her way to the door.

"It's almost midnight." He groaned, but he followed her.

Koume had cleared out the living room and had drawn a circle in the center of it, etching it in runes and symbols. Overlaying that were Sheikah runes—Impa stood off to the side, supervising. There were four circles devoid of ruins in the middle, one for each of them. Sheik woke Ganondorf carefully, and the boy blinked at him with his yellow orbs before grinning. One of his small hands reached up and tugged down his cowl, releasing the blue Poe. Sheik couldn't help but smile when his nephew let out a cry of delight, grabbing at it.

"I'm sorry to ask you this, _helrhnesaht_, but we need your help with something. Will you lend us your power?" Sheik murmured softly, gently smoothing Ganondorf's unruly hair back.

"The kid doesn't understand a word you're saying." Marin said, throwing an arm around his shoulder.

"I will not steal his magic from him without asking him." Sheik's tone was far more venomous than he meant it to be, and he shot her an apologetic look a second later. She waved it off.

"Testy. Hey, that kid that Malladus is talking to, the one that was with you? Do-"

"Whatever it is, no. Leave him alone. He was there when Impa opened the box." Marin stuck her tongue out at him.

"Fine, fine. I won't touch your friend. But I was gonna suggest one of the girls, not—"

"Marin, shut up. He does not need to have sex."

"I bet he'd disagree."

"Naryu damn—will you shut up?!" Marin threw her head back and laughed.

"Cute. Alright, fine. I'm taking Ganon to the Spring tomorrow. Not your school, but the actual Eldin Spring, so don't tire him out too much."

Sheik didn't respond. He looked at Ganondorf curiously, feeling the soft, clumsy push of the child's magic against his own.

"Thank you." He murmured, shifting his hold on Ganondorf. The boy beamed, the Poe clasped between his fingers shifting its color to a blue so pale it was almost white.

Damn. He would have to go to the Graveyard tomorrow. He had yet to go there with Link, not since the accident. He wasn't sure how the dead would react. They generally seemed fine, but there were still Gibdo wandering around, and they were all _armed_.

And he hadn't practiced. _Damn._

"Are you ready, boy?" Kotake's voice startled him, and he glanced up at her quickly. He didn't respond, but carefully set Ganondorf down in one of the circles, and sat down beside him. The boy let out a sound of protest, and the Poe flared brightly, tendrils twining around his wrists, distracting him.

Sheik thanked Nayru for that. If Ganondorf were to crawl over to him, it would smudge the runes, and Koume would lose it. The Twinrova followed suite, and Sheik felt their magic, dusty and dry and ancient like the desert, press against his. He took hold of Ganondorf's, gently, and opened his own power to the Twinrova.

It hit him immediately, a sudden vortex—stripping away his magic, his power, leaving him startlingly _empty_. The thing that would kill him, suddenly _gone—_was this how normal people felt? So _powerless?_ So _useless?_

He wrapped his power around Ganondorf's, keeping a very slow, steady stream of the child's power flowing to the Twinrova. Keeping Ganondorf's power steady was his main purpose here-with the Triforce of Power in their hands, Koume and Kotake had no need for his own shard of the Triforce.

Marin watched anxiously, despite all her earlier bravado. She was comfortable leaving Ganondorf with others while she went out, but anything magical was a potential threat to him, and it worried her deeply, though she would refuse to say so if asked. Sheik didn't understand her reasoning—she even got worried when Nabooru cast spells, and _she_ was the Sage of Spirit.

"Sheik, you're shaking." It was Impa's voice, soft and concerned, and he glanced at her quickly, worried about interfering with the spell. Kotake's lips were moving silently, but Koume was mumbling to herself, and any change in the magic they were taking, either his or Ganondorf's, could prove disastrous.

He was trembling, though.

"I…"

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Is this how you feel, Impa? So little power—having to direct it all yourself?" He asked softly. He really hated this—it wasn't the first time he'd lent his power out to someone, but this was the first time it had all been taken, and the wispy shreds of _his_ power, not that of the Triforce, were useless.

The magic one was born with was not sentient—its wielder had to manually control it, actually focus to send it to do whatever they wanted. The Triforce just _did_. The Mark of Wisdom was a sentient thing—it acted on its own to help its Bearer. Sheik vaguely remembered being aware of its actions when he was younger, but he'd grown so used to its independence that he only registered how _active_ it was when it was no longer there.

Impa's eyes softened, and she signed amusement, relief.

"Little? Sheik, your natural power rivals _Midna's_. It far surpasses mine."

_That wasn't right…_

"Ordona or Faron province—somewhere around there. Trying to narrow it down." Kotake's voice suddenly rang out, clear and sharp. Marin scrambled to get a notebook and write her words down.

Ganondorf let out a shrill cry of delight as the Poe flitted free of his grip and began bouncing around in the air above the runes.

The Twinrova suddenly pulled, sharply, on Ganondorf's power, and it took all Sheik had to keep it from unspooling entirely. Ganondorf looked shocked, as if he were about to start crying—

The explosion blew them apart like leaves in a hurricane. Sheik felt the back of his right hand blazing as if it were on fire, even as he bolted for Ganondorf, throwing himself over the boy as an invisible force hit his back and sent him flying towards the wall.

They just sort of _stopped_ before they hit, though, and Sheik felt a stranger's power wrapped around him—but, no, not a _stranger's_, though he'd certainly never felt this magic before.

"Thank you, Shad."

"What the fuck happened?" Shad sounded like he was trying not to panic, but his magic slowly lowered Sheik and Ganondorf to the floor, releasing them carefully.

"Thank you, boy." Kotake rasped, and Sheik slowly stood. Ganondorf was entirely fine—wrapped up in a ruby bubble aching of Power. He squealed with delight as the bubble popped, and started reaching for Shad.

Impa was fine, shadows slowly disappearing from around her—they'd blocked her from the blow—and Koume and Kotake were hovering, though they'd been blown up near the ceiling. Marin was at his side, scooping up Ganondorf and fussing over him a second later.

"Do you understand the importance of what you and my nephew found?" Impa asked sharply. Sheik made his way over to Shad, stepping over furniture.

"I know it's bad, like, sacrilege bad. Used to be that if a Hylian committed treason their ears were cut, and that was the worst possible punishment we could get. I figure it's the same with the Sheikah and their eyes." Shad sounded uncertain, and he glanced at Sheik.

"The Great Betrayal, as you are taught, began and ended with the massacre of a single village, correct?" Sheik sighed.

"Yeah."

"It was not. With no Sheikah there to take care of the bodies, a man came and took the eyes from the corpses—and used them to create things best left unmentioned. He used those things to almost entirely destroy the Sheikah. He was only stopped because the dead hate it when their caretakers die, and they took their revenge on him. These eyes mean that someone has found that man's methods and is attempting to recreate his…experiments." The blood drained from Shad's face.

"So you're saying—oh, dear Farore." He didn't continue, and sagged against the doorframe behind him, squeezing his eyes shut.

"It's worse this time. He's using the Gerudo as well, and we have no reason to not believe he's using Hylians too." Koume snapped. Marin brushed Sheik's side as she moved past him, and enveloped Shad in a hug, tears streaming down her face.

"Thank _Din. _You—I don't know what I'd have done, and—" Marin couldn't continue.

"It's no big deal. The kid has the Triforce of Power. He'd have been fine anyway." Shad said it hastily, awkwardly, and wriggled out of her embrace. His gaze met Sheik's for a moment and he blushed the brightest shade of red Sheik had ever seen on a living person.

Marin didn't notice—she pushed past Shad and disappeared into the kitchen with Ganondorf.

"What went wrong with the spell?" Sheik asked, turning to face the Twinrova and his aunt. Koume was cursing softly to herself and scrubbing at the runes on the floor, erasing them as quickly as she could. Kotake sighed, dropping onto the floor.

"Forgot. Faron's full of dead spots, places where magic can't get through unless you're inside it, and then you can't get your magic _out_. The Grove and the Woods and all that, after all. Scrying focused on a big dead spot, and I tried to push in." The apologetic tone in Koume's voice was probably the closest Marin would ever get to an apology until she got back to the desert—not that Marin could hear it.

"So he knows about the dead spots? He's in _Faron?"_

"He's in Faron Swamp. Not near the Light Spring, but somewhere around there. You know how big that place is—I can guarantee that someone else is going to die before we find the bastard." Kotake sounded defeated, tired, and Sheik squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head.

"You are not going Sheik, and that is final." Impa cut in, speaking in Sheikah. His gaze snapped open, meeting her ruby orbs, and he opened his mouth to protest—and then closed it.

If the man was doing what they thought he was, then he'd have the power to take the Mark of Wisdom from him if he killed Sheik—not sending it to Princess Zelda, as was supposed to happen when he died, but binding it to himself.

Giving the bastard part of the Triforce would be catastrophic.

"Why don't you take your friend upstairs, get him situated? Your aunt can go apologize to his mother in the morning, but it's too late to let you go out by yourself and you're drained." Kotake sighed. Sheik glanced at Shad, signing an apology. Shad stared at him blankly for a moment before letting out a soft 'oh' of understanding.

"Can I? My car's still being checked for evidence or whatever, right? And do I have to answer any more questions or something?" Shad asked. Kotake shook her head.

"I don't know about your car, but we don't have anything else to ask you. I wouldn't send my girls home so late, I'm not sending you."

"It's not your house, Kotake." Koume rasped.

"It's not yours either, Koume. Shoo. Go to bed." Sheik didn't try to argue with her. He'd done so before and lost spectacularly.

"Good night, Grandmothers."

"Good night, uh, ladies?" Koume threw her head back and laughed at Shad, and Kotake smirked. Before either of them could say anything, Sheik grabbed Shad's arm and tugged him upstairs.

"So…the baby's your nephew?"

"My sister left the Sheikah during her first _Rheshae _and joined the Gerudo. Ganondorf was born last year. Traditionally, the Twinrova are the grandmothers of all Gerudo, and I call them such because it is disrespectful to call them their true names, and they do not like it when I call them priestess."

"…How'd you know I was going to ask that?"

"Most do. I am sure Aveil will arrive at some point. She will call the Twinrova her mothers—they are related by blood, but they are not her biological mothers. And…ah, yes, Marin would not have allowed you near Ganondorf if she thought you were a threat, never mind Koume and Kotake and Impa. Do not worry about that."

"How often do you get that reaction?" Shad asked, sounding bemused. Sheik laughed softly, coming to a stop at his door.

"Link asked about Marin, and whether or not he would be detained for meeting Ganondorf—not that my nephew so much as looked at him, but he was in the same room." He replied, pushing open his door.

His room was less than spotless, but it wasn't too bad. His bed was pushed into a niche in the wall, and his desk sat directly across the room to it. Beside that was his dresser, and a stand for his weapons. His closet was just to the right when entering, but it was closed and hopefully whatever mess it contained would stay locked up. Besides his laptop, his lyre, and a few books cluttering his desk, there wasn't anything poking out where it shouldn't.

"Are all Sheikah so, ah, minimalist?"

"I do not know what that word means." Shad blushed again, awkwardly sitting on his bed. Sheik pulled a plastic box out from beneath it, snapping the clasps to open it.

"You don't have that many personal affects. You've got furniture and it's all clean and stuff, but…" Shad trailed off when Sheik laughed.

"Ah, growing attached to objects is…discouraged. It happens regardless, but only to a few very precious objects, and we have what we need." Sheik replied, pulling out a sleeping bag and a pillow.

"Alright. Do you just keep that stuff stored under your bed all the time?" Shad asked, sounding amused as he took them from Sheik.

"No, when we have guests they usually stay in my room, and they rarely announce themselves beforehand. Impa hates being unprepared."

"Are you alright with me staying here, then?" Sheik signed amusement and pushed the box back under his bed with his foot, helping Shad unfold the sleeping bag.

"Why would I not be? Is this a Hylian thing, then?" Shad scowled at him as they lay the sleeping bag down.

"No, I don't think so. It's just a Shad thing." Sheik laughed softly.

"Are we actually going to be going to school tomorrow?"

"I am hoping not. If you were not here my brother would probably wake me up earlier than he should. Since you are, Impa may be merciful."

"Well that's reassuring." Shad muttered, yawning.

"Do you need anything?"

"Um, no. I called my grandpa when that big guy, Malladus, was questioning me. He knows where I am and all that. All my stuff is in my car, and they said they'd get it all back to me once they cleared it." Shad flopped onto the sleeping bag, letting out a huff of air.

"Hey, Sheik? If you need any help with this, I'll do what I can. I don't know what I'd be able to do, but, you know."

"…Thank you, Shad."

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

"What's going on?" Exhaustion kept Shad from being too surprised when he woke up to find a girl in Sheik's bed.

She was pretty—even prettier than Ashei—and still fully clothed, something Shad was very grateful for. She had long, straight red hair pulled back into a high ponytail with bangs framing her face. She was tan, her rounded ears pierced with all number of golden loops and cuffs and dangly things he had no name for. She had a low-cut tank top on and a long skirt that was tangled with Sheik's legs. He had an arm over her waist, and he pushed himself up, blinking in confusion before focusing on Shad.

"What…?" Shad flicked his gaze downwards, towards the girl, and Sheik slowly followed his gaze. The girl's eyes flickered open, molten gold, to stare at Sheik. She grinned at him.

"What are you doing?" Sheik asked, amused.

"I got in late." She sighed, wrapping an arm around Sheik's neck and pulling him down. Shad promptly blushed and looked away, scrambling out of the sleeping bag.

"Where is—"

"Nope, I'm done with her, I don't want to hear it. And you owe me from—"

"Aveil, this is Shad, Shad, this is Aveil. I am going downstairs to breakfast. If Marin sent you up here I _will_ kill you both." Sheik sighed, and Shad glanced at the girl awkwardly as Sheik freed himself from her and stumbled out the door. She turned her gaze to him and smirked.

"So you Hylians really are that shy. Cute. My mothers don't like me talking to Hylians—you're the first one I've ever actually spoken too. Are you the one that saved Sheik?"

Shad really wasn't sure what to think of her, and so he refrained from staring at her—instead he stood, and focused on rolling up the sleeping bag.

"No. I'm the one who helped find the, ah, remains."

"Ah, sorry about that. We didn't sleep together sex-wise. The Gerudo just never sleep alone, and Sheik's comfortable. You can stop blushing." She said dryly, stretching as she sat up.

"It was nice to meet you." Shad mumbled, and bolted downstairs.

He knew how to get to the kitchen—that was where the big Sheikah, Malladus, had questioned him. He hurried through the living room, surprised to find all the furniture picked up and completely repaired—things had been crushed and broken last night (or was it that morning?) but nothing was amiss now.

Sheik was there, sitting at a counter with a bowl of cereal. There was another bowl, filled and ready to eat, sitting beside him, and he grinned and pushed it over to him when Shad entered.

"What in the name of the Three?!" Shad hissed.

"I would honestly love to see how you would react if we just dropped you in the desert, if this is your reaction to meeting one Gerudo."

"I don't—holy _shit_, is this how it is for you?!"

"You are a very boring people. Frustrating, and boring. It is not so much a shock as it is annoying." Sheik hummed in response, spoon clinking against his bowl. Shad dropped down heavily on a stool across from him.

"It's fun to freak out Hylians. Don't take it too hard." The Gerudo girl, Aveil, said as she sashayed into the kitchen.

"Aveil tends to be kinder than most." Sheik added, as if that were a selling point. Shad glared at him.

"I don't know how Link puts up with you."

"I could say the same to you." Sheik retorted, though mirth glittered in his eyes as he stood, putting his dishes in the sink. Aveil was rooting around in the fridge, ignoring them.

"I cannot legally drive. I can call Link to drive you home, if you want me to. Malladus _could_ drive you home, but if you get carsick with your driving, you do not want him to drive you."

"I could drive." Aveil volunteered, closing the fridge with a thump, a slice of cold pizza in her hand and eyes wide and innocent.

"No." Sheik said it at the same time as Shad did, to Shad's relief. She laughed, and Shad started eating. He was glad it was normal food—as ridiculous as that sounded, he'd been afraid that he'd have to eat some sort of crazy Sheikah dish. Considering he was the pickiest eater alive, that wouldn't have ended well.

"So hard to please. Fine, fine. So is this Link the one that saved you? Call him. I want to meet him!"

"No." Sheik repeated, scowling at her as he leaned against the counter.

"Why not?!" Aveil scowled at him in return. Her attention was focused entirely on the Sheikah—which was good.

"I am not going to repay him for saving my life by letting you harass him."

"You know, you used to be fun."

"Are you going with Marin to the Spring today?" Sheik asked, ignoring her. Shad listened to them argue curiously—Sheik hadn't struck him as the sort of person to, well, _argue_. And was pretty defensive about Link, too—though, granted, Aveil looked positively evil when she mentioned him.

"No. I'm going to go hang out with my brothers. And then I'll come back here and help the Moms with your Elders."

"Brothers?" Shad said it before he could stop himself. Both Aveil and Sheik turned to look at him, Aveil's expression flat.

"Sorry—it's just that the Gerudo only give birth to one boy a century, right? And that's Ganondorf, isn't it?" Sheik coughed, trying to stifle a laugh, and hunched over, shoulder shaking silently. Aveil smacked his arm, gaze never leaving Shad.

"Oh, good, he's smart too. Duh. But the Gerudo and the Gorons are both Din's races. Like the Sheikah and the Zora are Nayru's, and Hylians—well, I can't mention that, but, you know. I'm sure you get the idea. Darunia just had a kid too, and I get to be the baby's—damn. How do I say it in Hylian, Sheik?"

"Ah, if anything happens to the child's parents, the child will go to her."

"Yeah, that. We're basically just going to go party all night. I'm excited. It'll be up in the Crater too—you should bring your Hylians." She added, winking at Shad though her words seemed directed at Sheik. He stood up, abruptly done eating, and walked around Sheik—the side that Aveil wasn't on—to drop his bowl into the sink.

"Aveil—"

"Can you be _any _louder? For Din's sake, girl, Ganondorf _just_ went to sleep and I am _not_ watching the brat any longer!" Shad jumped, heart nearly jumping out of his chest when a hulking mass of muscle stalked into the kitchen, snarling at Aveil. He calmed down when he recognized Malladus, but _still_. The man sounded positively murderous.

He looked like he hadn't slept well, and his clothes—the same type of Sheikah clothing Sheik wore to school every day—were rumpled, bandages undone. Some were even dragging on the floor behind him. Aveil brightened and jumped—right onto them—as he stalked past her. They came loose immediately, though he stopped and paused long enough to glare at her.

"Where's your brother?" Malladus grunted, this time speaking to Sheik.

"I have not seen him this morning."

"The bastard. I told Impa you weren't going today. You owe me." Malladus said gruffly. Sheik just shrugged.

"Maybe he is at home, or with the Elders?"

"I'd know. Go to the graveyard today."

"I was planning on it."

"Take your lyre."

"I am not a child." Sheik sounded annoyed, and he glared at Malladus.

"Yes you are." Malladus' tone offered no room for argument. Aveil inched away, meeting Shad's gaze and tilting her head towards the living room.

"I'll take the Hylian to go call your friend." Aveil sighed, linking arms with Shad before he could even respond and pulling him out of the room.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

"—and go left. It's kinda big and there isn't any other house nearby, and it's white. Um, Sheik's on the porch, and you'll probably hear shouting. There's all sorts of people here." Shad didn't sound nervous, just uncomfortable with giving directions, so Link wasn't too worried, but he still couldn't relax his grip on the steering wheel as he spotted the house Shad had attempted to describe.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Link."

"Alright, cool." Shad hung up, and Link dropped his phone onto Aryll's lap—she'd been playing a game on it before he'd called Shad for directions.

"I get to meet the Sheikah?"

"Aryll, we talked about this." He groaned, pulling into Sheik's driveway. There was a girl sitting on the porch railing, kicking her feet idly while she leaned on Sheik's shoulder, braiding his hair—he didn't recognize her, but she looked Gerudo, if her clothing and her tan were any indication.

"But I get to meet him, right? Ooh! Who's she? She's pretty! Is she his girlfriend?" Link felt his jaw tense, but he forced himself to relax as he cut off the engine and pocketed his keys. Aryll was out of the car and running up to the porch before he was even unbuckled, but before he could shout, Shad appeared, and she automatically changed directions, running to him.

"—happened? Link won't tell me but we're on the reservation and we're not supposed to—"

"_Aryll_. I'm sorry. She had a half day today that she didn't tell me about. If you've got duct tape, use it before you go deaf."

"_Link!" _She cried, when Shad scooped her up. Sheik looked amused—his cowl was absent—and the girl eyed him curiously, intently, while she finished with Sheik's braid and patted his shoulder. Sheik looked pretty tired, with dark circles under his eyes and rumpled clothes. Shad did too, but not to the extent that Sheik did—his glasses were crooked and he was in the same clothes he'd been wearing yesterday, but that was about it.

"Are you two okay? Auru called me last night, said something was wrong." Sheik's gaze flickered downwards, to the floor, and a pained expression crossed Shad's face.

"We are unharmed." Sheik murmured.

"Just Sheikah business. Something went wrong, they got caught up in it. Nothing to worry about. I'm Aveil. You're the kid who saved Sheik?"

"Will you stop asking that to every Hylian you meet?" Sheik sighed, glaring at her. Aryll giggled, and Shad set her down. He had a plastic bag in one hand, and when Link looked at him questioningly, he grinned.

"I got some of my books back. They're keeping my car for a bit. I'm sorry—is Grayblade mad at you?"

"No, he doesn't care. Groose was going to try and fight me, so he's glad I left. Hi Aveil, I'm Link, and yes, though he didn't need it. He's kicked my ass enough times since to prove that—_crap." _Link hissed, eyes widening as he turned to his sister.

"Link swore!" Aryll crowed, a look of absolute delight crossing her face. Link lunged at her, hoping to grab her before she bolted, and he missed. She shot past Shad—and straight into someone coming out of the house.

"Why are you crowding the doorway? Out of the way, kid. And who's this?" It was Marin. Link was surprised at how relieved he was. She had her baby on one hip—the child had Sheik's Poe clutched in his hands—and had caught Aryll by the back of her shirt.

"Sorry. Aryll, I told you, best behavior!" The girl, Aveil, burst into laughter behind him as he grabbed his sister from her, apologizing again.

"What'd she get into?" Shad asked, amused.

"I don't know. She was like this on the drive up."

"Miss Tina gave us sugar sticks!"

"Sorry, kid. Sheik, I can't drive you to the graveyard. Something came up. Grandma's coming with us to the Spring, isn't she baby?" The last part was cooed towards the baby, who gurgled and reached for Sheik, releasing the Poe.

"Oh! What's that?" Aryll gasped, squirming in his grip.

"A Poe. Now stop it or I'll tell Niko." She stopped moving immediately, and glared at him.

"Sorry, again. I can drive you." Link sighed, this time to Sheik. Sheik surprised him by laughing, and taking Aryll from him. She'd always been small for her age so he had no trouble doing so, but Link still panicked for a second. What if Sheik dropped her?

"Thank you, Link."

"Are you my brother's friend?" She asked, face scrunched up as she stared at him. Aveil tried to stifle a sudden laugh, hopping off of the porch railing.

"I am Sheik. It is nice to meet you, Aryll."

"Does Link talk about me a lot? What kind of stuff does he say? Is it good or bad? Are you _really_ a Sheikah?"

"He's got the red eyes, doesn't he?" Marin asked, amused.

"Are you going with the boys, Aveil?"

"Ah, yeah, sure. Sheik can send me up to the Crater when it's time to go. Why, do you need help?" Marin sighed.

"No, Byrne's gone and Malladus needs help looking for him." Sheik rolled his eyes.

"Tell him to go check the Shop. He should know this by now."

"Then you should get going, before he comes after you." Marin retorted.

"Alright, you kids be safe. Thank you again, Shad. Say goodbye, Ganon." The boy let out a cry, reaching for Sheik, and Sheik's lips twitched into a smile. He reached up and touched the Poe, which had taken up bouncing around his head, and pushed it towards the boy. It went immediately, and the baby calmed down when it dropped into his grip.

"Thanks." Marin said, and vanished back inside.

"So, to Shad's house, then the graveyard?"

"But—"

"Sheik can answer your questions in the car, Aryll."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Aveil asked, arching an eyebrow. Sheik glanced at her, lips twitching into a smile, and set Aryll back down.

"Got your bag, Shad?" Link asked, focusing on his friend.

"Yeah. Let's go."

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

By the time Link had arrived, Shad and Aveil had begun getting along, and by the time they dropped Shad off, she and Aryll had declared the backseat a 'Girl's Only Zone' and were whispering suspiciously to one another while staring at the two of them, and it was making Sheik uncomfortable. Though at least it kept Aveil from making inappropriate comments and Aryll from asking any more questions.

"Thank you, Link. I…do not like imposing on you so, especially when I have already asked for your help with my Hylian." He said softly, glancing at Link hesitantly. Link looked at him, surprised.

"Uh, no, it's fine. It's no big deal, Sheik. I'm happy to do this. I'd be stuck with Aryll all day anyway. Are you sure you don't mind us hanging out there for a while?" Sheik shook his head quickly.

"No, though there are some things, ah, wandering. They should not harm you, but they might scare Aryll." A smile flickered across Link's face, and he laughed.

"Aryll's not scared of much. Water is the only thing that can really freak her out. I don't think the graveyard will, unless something actually attacks her, and we got you for that."

It was touching how much faith Link had in his abilities—especially since the only example Link had to base that off of had been an absolute disaster.

"Are the dead nice? You seem to really like them and I know that the Sheikah deal with them a lot. It's always something I've wondered about." Link asked suddenly. Sheik laughed.

"Yes, always? It has always been a concern of yours?" Link blushed, and opened his mouth to respond, but Sheik cut him off.

"It depends. They are like the living. They like some Sheikah ad dislike others—they absolutely loathe Byrne, for example. They like you, though I do not know why. As for nice? I do not know how to precisely answer the question. They can be gentle and they can be kind, but that can be in the same instance in which they are brutally violent. They do not think as the living do—morality is a foreign concept to them. They are very possessive of the Sheikah, especially those that guard them, or that they watch over. Sheerow hates it when Ravio leaves her behind, even if it is only for a few minutes."

"Sheerow? Wait, Ravio has an undead buddy?" Sheik couldn't hide his laughter at that.

"No, no. Sheerow is—_was_—a bird, when she was alive. Ravio found her when she woke, and she is his…well, I suppose you would call it a pet."

"You're joking, right? The Sheikah actually have undead pets?"

"It is not that uncommon."

"Yeah, alright, and they're better than live pets 'cause you don't have to feed them, and you only have to clean them up when their parts start falling out? What about the smell?" The words themselves would have been offensive if Link hadn't been so clearly joking.

"A simple spell and their magic contains the rest of it. Animals do not come back as we do—they are rare, few and far between. They usually occur when a Sheikah child plays with their magic near a corpse—they do not consciously do it, the energy simply siphons their magic until enough is accumulated to create a spirit."

"Sheik, damn you, I don't want to hear about dead things!" Aveil's voice, coming right next to his ear, made him jump.

"For Nayru's sake! I was not talking to you!"

"I still heard it!"

"We're going to a cemetery, which, if you haven't noticed, is filled with dead things." Link said dryly, casting her a sharp look as he flicked his blinker on, turning onto the road the graveyard was on.

"Aveil, are you and Sheik dating?" Aryll asked, suddenly leaning beside Aveil in the gap between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. Sheik felt his face grow hot, and Aveil burst out laughing.

"Dating? No, kid, I just broke up with my girlfriend last week. Too soon for a serious relationship, and with _Sheik? _Are you crazy?" Link glanced at him and Sheik resolutely glued his eyes on the gates of the cemetery.

"Aryll, what did I say about being rude?"

"I wasn't rude! I was asking a question!"

"A _rude_ question!" Link snapped back, parking the car and turning off the engine.

"Ha, Hilda was wrong. You Hylians don't freak out about same-sex relationships." Aveil crowed, scrambling out of the car. Sheik followed after her.

"Yeah they do. I might not freak, but most people don't, ah, approve of it." Link said, shaking his head as he closed the car door. Aryll bounced over to Sheik and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the gate as Aveil stayed back to talk to Link.

"Do you really work here?"

"I suppose you could say that." Sheik laughed, unlocking the gate.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"You're Link's age! Can you really beat him in a fight?"

"Easily. Do you fight, Aryll?" He asked, sweeping an arm towards the inside of the graveyard as he pulled the gate open. She shook her head, pigtails bouncing loosely around her ears.

"No. Link says I can't get into a fight at school, but he comes home beat up all the time. Grandpa Niko calls him a hypocrite, but I don't know what that is." Sheik glanced towards Link, amused, and caught his gaze. Link looked absolutely hassled, and he rolled his eyes as he jogged towards them, Aveil skipping just behind him.

"Hey, so, your buddy said that you were teaching him our stuff." Aveil said, slinging an arm around Sheiks' shoulders, a wicked glint to her eye. Sheik signed exasperation with her, idly falling back in step with his magic all across the graveyard—it always took a second to orientate himself, though he never stopped supplying the place with his magic.

"She is challenging you to a fight, Link."

"If she's up to using sticks."

"Uh, yeah. That'll work."

"I'll go find some." Link said, flashing a quick grin at her. Alarm shot through Sheik and he reached out, catching Link's wrist.

"Do not go alone. Take either Aveil or myself." Link blinked at him, eyes wide.

"Um, okay, sure. Come on, then. Uh, Aryll, do whatever Aveil tells you to do, alright?"

"Okay!"

Sheik felt himself relax, and he let go of Link.

"What's got you so upset?" Link asked quietly, when they had left the others behind.

"…I do not like forcing the dead back to sleep. I usually let them tire themselves out. So I may or may not have left a few Dead Hands and Redeads and Gibdos wandering the place. They're mostly deeper in, but there is a Dead Hand traveling fairly close to here." Link whirled around, eyes flashing.

"And we just left my sister with—"

"It will not attack. It is not hungry and they do not like the living." Sheik said curtly, cutting him off. He might favor the dead, but he wasn't _stupid. _He wouldn't endanger anyone like that.

"If you were entirely sure about that you wouldn't have come with me! I've gotta get back there and—" Sheik stopped Link, pressing one hand against his chest. Link glared at him, furious, scared, ready to bolt, push him out of the way. Sheik swallowed—he couldn't let Link do that. If he ran off, he could run into it, or it could sense his agitation.

"You would not trust anyone besides yourself with Aryll's safety. Aveil could kill you before you could so much as bruise her—she is far better equipped than you to deal with it. And it is not that it would attack you unprovoked that has me so worried. If you want to return now, we will, but it is not that much farther before we get to a tree, and sitting around will be..." Sheik trailed off, seeing something moving behind Link, and slowly dropped his hand, stepping towards it.

Soft, pale fingers lay half-covered in loam, palms just visible through a spattering of black dirt. Sheik smiled softly, kneeling beside it.

"Come here, Link." Link hesitated a moment but trudged over to him. Sheik put an arm out, stopping Link from getting too close. Very slowly, Link kneeled beside him, and Sheik pointed at one of the protruding hands.

"Did I tell you that the dead enjoy playing games? Gibdos are very serious, Redeads enjoy games, and Dead Hands take some convincing, but they will play. One of their favorites is tag. Dead Hands are very slow, though, so they lay in wait. This is why I did not want you wandering around by yourself. Should you step on it, it will react very unfavorably. It would probably think you were attacking it or the graveyard, and would act accordingly. There is a chance it could have thought you were another dead, which would be worse—they are not at all gentle with one another."

"Dear Farore—is that a face?" Link's voice was unsteady, and he grabbed Sheik's shoulder tightly, as if reassuring himself Sheik was really there.

"Do you know what a Dead Hand is?" Sheik asked, the thought suddenly occurring to him—_every_ Sheikah knew what one was, what it looked like and their usual personalities, by the time they had come of age. It was part of getting Sheikah children used to the dead—Impa had taken Hilda to graveyards instead of parks as a child, like most Sheikah adults, because if their child was going to play they might as well be getting used to those they would watch over later and develop some sort of bond between them. Ravio didn't like Poes, for example, in large bunches, but was perfectly at ease with the dead with a physical body. Hilda was the exact opposite.

But a _Hylian?_ It was the Sheikah's job to keep them from ever encountering something like a Dead Hand. What reason would they have to _ever_ see one? Even if Link had come to the graveyard more than most, even if Dampè had shown him much of it, the deceased Elder wasn't stupid enough to tempt a Dead Hand with live bait.

"No. What—is this what it looks like?" Sheik studied him intently for a moment, then shook his head.

"Physically, they are little more than a mass of boneless, decaying flesh. Their arms are…severed at the wrist, and unlike ReDeads, who heal when they feed, Dead Hands never recover from that injury. Instead they absorb other corpses and take the arms off of them. If they are hunting, their arms protrude out of the ground entirely—a forest of limbs. When their prey gets too close to a hand, they strike, and hold it down until they can feast. They are subterranean, so they tunnel underground rather than walk, but they can emerge rapidly when excited. Dead Hands are very slow above ground, though, so if one can fight off the hands holding them down before it gets to them..."

"Has—has anyone ever killed one?" Link asked quietly, gaze uncertain as he studied the creature. He wasn't as terrified, as panicked as he had been earlier, and Sheik took that as a good sign.

"To kill a Dead Hand one must be caught by it and almost devoured. It has been done before, but those who succeed in doing so recover from it very slowly, if at all. By all accounts the Hero of Time suffered greatly—and he faced down a particularly powerful Dead Hand when he was just a child. But they are only native to Termina and Hyrule, so we have no way of telling whether that is because Terminians and Hylians are non-combative or not."

"_Native_?" Link repeated, head snapping up to look at him. Sheik stood, helping Link up as well. He was relieved that Link was relaxed now, enough to change the subject to something relatively trivial, but it worried him. The only thing he had done was tell him that it was possible to kill it—was that really all Link needed to feel Aryll was secure? It wasn't invincible?

"They do not appear in the desert, for example. Poes are abundant in the desert, far more so than here in Hyrule—besides Faron and Kakariko provinces, in any case. And Anubi only exist in the desert—and only from the remains of Gerudo. So, yes, different sorts of dead are 'native' to different areas."

"Well that's interesting. Are you sure this thing won't come after us? You said it's not hungry or whatever, but if there are more—"

"Those ones are asleep and even if they were not, I can hold them at bay while you leave and then put them to sleep. It is not anything too difficult to do. It is what could happen when I am not around that I am concerned about. That is all there is, Link. And…I am not too certain about whether the dead would attack you at all, anyway." Sheik murmured, folding his arms across his chest and very slowly moving past Link, towards a thick, squat tree. It was one of the few in the cemetery that had yet to die, though its leaves were sickly looking and sparse. He chose two branches that should serve Link and Aveil well, and began sawing at them with one of his daggers.

"What do you mean?" Link asked, stepping in front of him and steadying the branch. Sheik glanced up at him, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"The dead like you. They are comfortable with you. This is not the first time I have told you this."

"Which means…?" Link asked, rolling his eyes.

"If someone were to attack you here, they would probably defend you. If they _were_ hungry and you and another Hylian were in the graveyard, they would go after you last." Link's eyes darkened, and Sheik sighed. He wasn't sure whether he was more frustrated with how dense Link was being about it, or the fact he didn't understand it fully. When it came to dealing with the dead, Sheik _hated_ not understanding things.

"Do they like Aryll?"

"I would assume so, if she was as close with Dampè as you were." The branch snapped off with a crack, and Sheik felt the nearby dead stir. He cast his magic, as weak and tattered as it was, out without a thought, gently soothing them, putting them back to sleep—and Link cursed, and Sheik snapped to attention. He was slumped against the tree, doubled over, the branch lying on the ground at his feet. Alarm shot through him and he had his dagger tucked away in an instant.

"Damn…"

"Link? Are you alright?"

"Your magic. I du—I don't know what's wrong with me. S—sorry. It just—it _hurts."_

"I should have had Impa look at this when we were at the house."

"_No-!"_ The forcefulness behind Link's voice startled Sheik, and he froze, one hand on Link's arm.

"I—I don't—no. I'm fine. I—it's just your magic is so fucking _powerful_. I can't—it's not just you. I can't take Ezlo's class—_shit."_ He doubled over again, shuddering violently, but he didn't throw up.

"This did not happen the night of the attack, though. I was pouring every ounce of magic I had into the dead, and you were not inconvenienced then. This is something new, is it not?"

"I don't know—maybe 'cause I was farther away when—"

"No, Link, I was _still_ using magic when I was at the _hospital_. If that was it you would have been unable to so much as throw a twig at my attackers. I was not using a lot, but I was still maintaining the spells that cloak the entire cemetery—and I have been since. That did not bother you until just now when I _actively_ did so, which I was also doing that night."

"Which means what, Sheik? I don't—_ah." _Link slid to the ground, and Sheik automatically crouched beside him, worried.

"This? Your attacks, or whatever it is you would like to call it? None of it is consistent. Is your own magic acting up in some way?"

"My—_no!"_ Link jerked away from him violently, falling on his side.

"I'm just sensitive to magic, and you—fuck, Sheik, you have _so much_. I ca—I can't even watch Shad at the Tournaments because I get like this, and I don't stick around to—to see how the Princess fights—and I've never felt like this even then." Link looked up at him, dark blue eyes glittering with pain, and Sheik felt his blood run cold, his heart stop beating for a second.

Link could sense his Mark. He might not know what it was, but he could sense it.

Link's head fell again, entire body shuddering again as another wave of pain hit him, and Sheik reacted immediately—he grabbed his chin, forcing Link to look at him.

"You cannot tell _anyone_ this, Link. No one—not even your sister, or Shad, or your parents, or lover—I don't care who, you can _never_ tell them this. Do you understand me?"

If he were Hilda, he would have killed Link right there, or come up with some elaborate story that would have convinced him that this hadn't happened or that it was of no consequence. If he were Impa, he would have threatened Link with Aryll's safety. If he were Malladus he would have just obliterated the event from Link's memories.

But he was none of them, and he could not fathom doing anything so terrible to anyone, especially to Link, who had no idea what was going on, or why this was so important. Maybe he acted as Ravio would have—not that it mattered.

Maybe it was his urgency, maybe Link understood, maybe he was in too much pain to really care.

Either way, he nodded, gaze heavy with his severity. Either way, he promised to keep it a secret, even if he didn't understand what exactly he was keeping hidden.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**BTW, next chapter will be the SHORTEST CHAPTER EVER. ;3 ((It'll be worth it!))**

**I told you there was a serial killer. Probably didn't think I meant this when I said so, huh? XD**

**So to clarify on the Mask of Truth—the Sheikah have been imprisoning, destroying, and binding all sorts of evil/powerful threats to Hyrule for millennia. The Mask of Truth destroys that magic, releasing all sorts of terrible things. And if you look at Hyrule's maps for each game, even OoT to TP, they change so drastically—process like that take centuries, ect—so the Great Betrayal undid, you know, generations upon generations upon generations upon generations (you get the idea) of magic, spells, work, ect. Basically, it is Very Bad. (And you wonder why Ganondorf escaped the Sacred Realm…?) And the Gossip/Sheikah stones are markers—magical markers, but markers. (Oh, look! Something dangerous is buried/trapped beneath it! :D)**

**BUT THE ALLITERATION. JEEZ. 'Aveil' and 'Aryll' and 'Shad' and 'Sheik'. X.X I started misspelling Link's name 'cause I thought it would start with an SH. (Lol,****Sherlock).**

**On another note, soon as Nano ends I'mma work on a couple AMVs. A Daughters of Darkness one for RWBY and one for LoZ (Not sure if it'll be Hyrule Warriors or Twilight Princess or if I'll just use a hodgepodge of games, and not sure which song) :D Not sure how well they'll turn out, but, you know. It'll be my first time doing so.**

**((Sorry for the Dead Hand stuff. grandshadowseal likes the Poe, I like the Dead Hands. XD)**


	8. Chapter 8

"Everyone here knows the story of creation. The Three Goddesses descended from the heavens and created the world, natural law, and all life. Yes? Raise your hand if you don't." Sheik scowled at the teacher—a tall, willowy Hylian old enough to have been alive in his great-grandmother's time. Charlo was a brilliant man, but his lectures were inconsistent at best and irrelevant at worst.

"Good, I thought as much. What you _don't _know is that that story differs region from region, race to race. Sometimes that change is a little thing, sometimes its huge. Ceres, why don't you tell us the version you grew up with."

Ceres, the girl Sheik had called that first day to get in contact with Link, preened beneath Charlo's attention—she was something of a favorite student, and was very proud of that. Sheik had no patience with her—after the fifth time she'd cornered him to ask about Ravio, he'd told her Ravio was faithful, and engaged. Shad had told him he'd been rude about it, which had bewildered him. Why couldn't Hylians tell this sort of thing _before_ asking someone? When he was younger he'd thought the Sheikah way was stupid but Hylians were _ridiculous._

"Well, basically, Din created the world, Farore created life, Nayru created law, and then they left, leaving the Triforce at the point of their ascendance to remind their creatures of their benevolence."

"That's not true!" Curiously, Sheik turned his head to regard the boy who'd spoken—Keet, he thought his name was. He was a mousy boy who didn't usually contribute to class, but he was intelligent enough, and Sheik didn't mind him.

"The Three left Hylia behind to watch over Hyrule, and they left the Triforce to help her when she most needed it, because four deities upset the natural balance and a single evil great enough to challenge them had been created."

"Oh please, everybody knows that Hylia doesn't actually exist." Ceres snapped back at him, bristling. Shad poked Sheik's side, head down on his desk as he tried to stifle his laughter. Charlo's gaze moved to them, disapproving. Shad was very disrespectful in this class, though he usually had good cause—the students were idiotic.

"Actually…" Sheik let the word hang in the air, and everybody turned to face him. Charlo positively lit up—Sheik had avoided contributing to class since the beginning of school, and Charlo was desperate to learn more about the Sheikah's religious beliefs.

"Hylia did exist. She was not a Goddess, but she was divine—created by the Three to protect Hyrule."

"And she's done such a good job. We've only been invaded once in the past three Ages." Ceres snapped back, glaring furiously at him. He regarded her coldly before speaking.

"Divine beings cannot touch the Triforce, and the Three can only influence it to the slightest degree. When it is fragmented, it is up to the mortals the Triforce chooses as its hosts to stop the evil. She contains it. Have you never wondered why, in all the times Hyrule has been invaded, the country itself still exists? Its people still exist, not wiped out by war? Massacred and enslaved and scattered across the entirety of the world, not just Hyrule? That is because she contains the evil—lessens its effects and holds it at bay as long as she can while the Three prepare the Chosen." That shut Ceres up, and Sheik leaned back in his seat as Shad's laughter became audible.

"Why the tense change?" Charlo asked suddenly, startling Sheik.

"…What?"

"You spoke of her in past tense, then in present tense. How come?" Now the entire classroom was staring at him expectantly. _Great._

"…She gave up her divinity. She still exists, she is simply…mortal."

"Now wait a minute, that's not-!" Keet began, jumping to his feet.

"Sit down. See, this is why we are discussing this today! The Sheikah have different views than those from a traditional church, and the Church of Hylia as different views from those two as well! This unit will focus on that—someone from Whittleton would have different stories than those from the Zora's Domain or Castle Town." Sheik began to tune Charlo out, and jabbed Shad—not too hard—in the side.

It didn't help with the laughter.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

"-Best thing is, he never said that's what the Sheikah believe in! Just said it like it was a fact and Charlo was so excited. Ceres was _pissed_. And, I mean, I'm sure that it is true, to some degree, but _still_. I thought I was going to get a detention I was laughing so hard." Shad laughed, hands gesturing wildly as he told the story. Ashei laughed, tilting back in her seat as Owlan walked by their table, and Shad's expression brightened.

Whenever they went to the Tournaments, kids from other schools asked if it was weird that their Headmaster was also a Professor—and that he taught classes at their school itself. Honestly, it wasn't. He taught general fighting—basically, everyone was supposed to keep in shape, which was why Shad was there. Owlan put a paper down in front of him, and Link sighed dramatically.

"You did well, Mr. Elne, but we both know you can do better."

"Oh, come on. Like I have time for that."

"Yeah, you not have time for something? All you do is screw around, yeah?" Ashei laughed, tossing a crumpled bit of paper at him. Link ducked, rolling his eyes at her as Owlan moved off.

It had been years since he'd _really_ hung out with Ashei or Shad, which was the only reason they weren't pestering him. There used to be a time when Shad knew when he was upset and he wasn't. Now he couldn't tell. Part of him wished Shad still could—not that it would solve anything.

"And somebody stole the copier too, yeah? Shit, no wonder Owlan's so panicked."

Sheik had been very upset yesterday, at the graveyard. After making Link swear not to tell anyone—and without explaining why—he'd snapped off another branch and helped Link back to Aryll and Aveil. By the time they'd gotten to the girls the effects of Sheik's magic had been controllable, though it hadn't been easy.

Their trek had turned out to be for nothing anyway—Aveil had had to go when they returned. Sheik had used the Deku nuts that he'd used to get Link home before, to take her wherever she wanted to go and get himself back. Aryll had been convinced they were firecrackers.

They'd hung out for a little bit, Aryll visiting Grandma and him making awkward small-talk with Sheik, but Sheik had been very abrupt with him. He didn't know if what had happened had angered him or what, but Sheik hadn't said anything that wasn't absolutely necessary to him all day and it was bothering Link.

"Really? I thought somebody just broke it."

He hadn't _done _anything. Why was Sheik so upset about it—and why had he looked so terrified, after he'd just been talking about how bad the Dead Hand was if it attacked and the aftermath of killing it? Was it whatever had happened with Shad? Why had _both_ of them lied and said they were fine, though, if it was that?

He dropped his head onto the table with a thump.

Aryll had thought Sheik was awesome, though she'd been slightly terrified of him at first. And she was still talking about Aveil and how cool she was—she said she wanted to be a Gerudo when she grew up now. And she wanted to go back to the graveyard, as soon as possible.

Why did everything have to be so _hard?_

"You okay, Link?" He looked up and stared at Shad, saw the concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"Something happen at the graveyard?" Link shook his head immediately.

"No. I'm fine, Shad." Even Ashei looked like she didn't believe him, but neither of them said anything else on the matter, and a few minutes later the bell rang. Link was out the door immediately, though he didn't know where he was going to go. He could go find Sheik, but he didn't want to start a confrontation there at school. And if he avoided him, he'd have an awkward rest of the day.

But if something was really wrong…

Link sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Where in Farore's name would Sheik go if he was upset, assuming he hadn't just gone home?

"Oh, hey, it's my Hylian! Cafeteria's in the other direction, you know." He blinked in surprise as Ravio appeared at his side, the smaller boy flashing him a grin.

"Where'd you come from?"

"Skipped class. These classes are really fucking boring. I don't know how you put up with it year after year—well, actually, by this point you're probably entirely worn down. Damn, must suck to be a Hylian. Anyway, Sheik tell you what happened the other day?"

"…No. Shad was with him, not me." Ravio's eyes widened.

"Oh, yeah, the kid with the glasses? I didn't go over to their powwow, but they got the Grandmas to come out of their hidey holes, which is pretty big. People just pop out of the woodworks at Sheik's place all the time and it was like, triple that the other day—even Malladus came over, and he's, you know, Malladus." Ravio rolled his eyes at that, then suddenly sobered. They'd wandered away from everybody else by this point, and were alone in the hall.

"Look, if you're not serious, if you really don't want to be a friend to him, then you just leave him alone 'cause that's the last thing in the world that he needs and I won't let anyone fuck with him, got it? I'm perfectly willing to kill you if you're just here to screw with him."

"I—what?! I don't—no! I just—" A grin flickered across Ravio's face for a moment before vanishing, and Link had the distinct feeling that he'd passed some sort of test.

"Good. Thought so. Look, Sheik's got some, ah…issues. Not the kind you recover from easily. But he's lonely, and he needs a friend. A good friend, I mean, 'cause he's my best friend but he'll never really open up to me. And he seems to like you. So don't...fuck, I don't know. Just, be patient with him. 'Cause I know you need someone as badly as he does, but you haven't been through what he has. And don't ask me, 'cause I can't talk about it and Sheik probably won't tell you either. But if he does and if you prove that you aren't worthy of his trust? You're gonna have a whole shit ton of people going after your ass." Link could only gape at Ravio.

"I—look, I don't know what the fuck any of that means, but I'm not gonna go blab Sheikah stuff to anybody. I don't care what kind of shit you guys do or believe or whatever. I just—I pissed Sheik off and I don't know how but he's fucking _terrified_ and—"

"Good." Ravio sounded pleased, and that shut Link up—after proclaiming Sheik was his best friend, how could he say it was _good_ that he was scared?

"You know, Byrne was wrong about you. So far, anyway. Keep proving him wrong. Sheik's in the strings room." Ravio grinned again, then gave a strange sort of salute with one hand and spun on his heel, bouncing off.

Link stared after him—what the fuck did that even _mean?_

But…Sheik was in Embrose's classroom?

He started jogging down the hall.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

It was hard to do on the best of days, focus solely on the music, and today was not one of those good days. Sheik wasn't sure whether his attention was just far more frayed than usual or if it was because he was actively taking the magic out of his _own_ song, his _own_ instrument. Maybe it was because he was upset—but he ignored that, pushed it away. He _wasn't_ upset.

His lyre had been handed down through his family for generations. Thousands of Sheikah had held it, smoothed its wood with their hands and imbued its strings with magic. Riding it of magic was impossible, but he was trying to mask it, dampen it. If Link had been so violently affected by it, he didn't want any other incidents like it occurring with any other students.

He only knew a few songs that could harness magic without directly affecting the world around him or himself, and he played one of those while cloaking his instrument.

He used his natural magic, not the Triforce's. He was very wary of doing so, especially after Link. It was enough, if more difficult to work with—and it held a hundred times better than the Triforce's power did, which surprised him. Maybe because it _wasn't_ sentient, because it stayed where it was to complete its purpose instead of trying to go where it was most needed.

"…It's pretty." He jumped, fingers jarring across the strings as his eyes flew open. Link was sitting in a chair just to his left, chin resting on his arms, which were folded over the back of the chair. He looked tense, though, and his gaze was anxious when it met Sheik's.

The rest of the room was empty, jut a collection of black plastic chairs set in arcs and instruments scattered across the rest of the open space. Sigils glowed faintly on the ceiling and walls, meant to contain the magic that the students released when playing and dissipate residual power after the fact.

"The song. I had no idea you played so well. I couldn't concentrate the last time I heard you play."

_Link hadn't felt it? _That meant _what?_ That he could only sense his Mark? Sheik felt a headache coming on, and he slowly set his lyre down on his lap.

"…What are you here for?"

"To talk to you." Despite himself, Sheik felt something twist violently in his stomach. He closed his eyes for a moment. Link waited a second before continuing, as if he'd expected Sheik to jump in and say something.

"Did I do something wrong? Did I offend you or hurt you or something yesterday? 'Cause you've been very clear that you want nothing to do with me since."

"No, Link, you have—no. It..."

"I won't—I promised I wouldn't. Alright? And I won't break that promise." He straightened as he spoke, and Sheik could feel his gaze on him. He struggled, trying to find something—_anything_—he could say.

"You did nothing wrong. I…" He trailed off, signing helplessness—he didn't know how to say it, or what to say. He couldn't tell Link, and this danced so closely to the truth…

Link let out a soft noise, and Sheik's gaze flickered to him.

"It's one of those things? Or related to it, anyway? It's fine. You don't have to explain anything, Sheik. I'm not asking you to. Whatever it is you think I know, or you think I could figure out—I don't, and I wouldn't even if I could. 'Kay? I just…I'll expect you to do the same. Alright?"And he _smiled_, the bastard had the audacity to _smile_ at him—

"Do not do this." His voice didn't shake, which was good, but it came out as little more than a whisper.

"Do what?"

"I—do you really think that we could—I do not even know—" Sheik cut himself off, drawing in a deep breath.

"Do you realize what it is that you are asking, Link? Not of me—this is so you do not ask anything of me—but of yourself? You are asking me to lie to you, to—to what? You expect to trust me, for me to ever trust you if we just _lie_ to each other? I do not want that on my conscience, not inflicting that sort of pain on anyone."

Belatedly, Sheik realized he was making it sound like more than a—a _what_? Were they _friends_, because he wasn't—

"I have faith that the decisions you make are for the best, 'kay? We're supposed to, aren't we? All you Sheikah know everything. You could do pretty much anything you wanted and we couldn't stop you. But, Sheik, if even a _fraction_ of the Sheikah are like you, then I have total faith in their ability to do what's for the best. I _trust_ you to be able to take care of yourself by yourself for however long you want to—and I'm not going to push that. But I also trust you to come talk to me or Ravio or whoever whenever you need someone else to help you. There's stuff I don't want to talk about—stuff I _won't_ talk about—with you, or anyone for that matter. And I'm sure you'll start hearing bits of it sooner rather than later, and I trust that you'll leave it alone. 'Cause that's what friends do." Link didn't look directly at him when he spoke, but he spoke slowly, choosing each word with care, intentional and purposeful.

"I will not—I cannot be your friend, Link." Sheik's voice did shake then, and Link's sapphire gaze moved back up to his own. And the bastard smiled again, brilliantly.

"Then, Sheik, I regret to inform you that we are _not_ friends. And I will amend my previous statement—then that's what _not _friends do."


	9. Chapter 9

**MORE LANGUAGE (THAN USUAL). In the beginning. Damn it, Byrne! **

"Fuck it! Fucking—_fuck!_" Byrne slammed his book down, shaking the entire table. Impa shot him a glare across the room and signed disapproval, threads of her magic reinforcing the table's legs for the fifth time that morning.

"That was a different 'fuck' than the first four." Koume said slowly, looking up at him from the dusty pages of her own manuscript. Malladus mouthed a prayer, signing relief as he slammed his own volume shut. They'd been reading since two that morning, trying to figure out where the bastard was and what the fuck he was trying to do. A call had come in from Ordona Province—after checking with all the resident Sheikah, it turned out another Sheikah had gone missing, a visitor from Lanayru Province, though she'd been gone for weeks. And the body had been identified as a visitor from Ikana, which had Malladus ready to rip some heads off, because it'd had been a child going to visit his mother. One of Malladus' own was dead, and _he hadn't known._

Regulations would be tightening everywhere.

"It's—_fuck!_ It's fucking Faron! That's why he's there! Because it's fucking—"

"Damn it, Byrne, Ganon's here!"

"He can barely say Sheik's name right, Marin. I can fucking say fuck as many fucking times as I fucking want and the kid isn't going to do a fucking thing!" He snapped back. Malladus cuffed him, shooting him a baleful glare, and Byrne closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as his metal fingers clenched over the arm of his chair in an attempt to calm himself down. Everyone wanted an explanation for his outburst.

"You can't turn a Poe back into whoever it was after death, right? Impossible. Been tried, nothing works. Faron, though, lets you _create_ a Poe—an entirely new soul—if you have enough shit at your disposal. This fucker isn't trying to recreate the Eyes, he's trying to _revive_ someone."

"So? They won't have a body—they won't even be the same person." Marin snapped. She looked frazzled, worried. She'd kept Ganondorf closer to her than she usually did lately—the killer, whoever he was, had everyone in a panic. And because Sheik and one of his Hylian buddies had found it, the panic was even worse.

Because everything Sheik did was just _so _fucking bad. Byrne had gotten into more fights over the matter than he could count, and Impa had been working her ass off keeping Sheik out of the house with Link while she tried to keep some of the more idiotic bastards from storming the house.

Even with Sheik's track record with that, there were still some willing to try it.

"Hylians are stupid as shit. They don't know that. This bastard's probably got a body, or is recreating one, seeing as how we're _still_ missing the fucking body! Could be catching people and chopping bits off for the perfect girlfriend or his fucking mother, I don't know! And what else is in Faron, huh? Fairies can hold a soul for a few seconds while they heal a just killed body and then return the soul before any Poe-making shit happens to it. The Great Fairies are _migrating_. Do you know _where?_"

"_Fuck!"_ Kotake yelped, standing up so quickly she nearly fell over. Impa was at her side in an instant, catching her.

"If he catches them—" Kotake cut herself off, looking ill.

"They can keep the body alive while he's recreating the soul!" Byrne finished, slamming his hands down on the table. Impa's magic flared around its legs, deep purple spirals against oak, but held.

"How would he even know how to recreate the soul?! He doesn't know—"

"It's possible." Malladus rumbled, cutting Marin off. Everyone turned to look at him, and he scowled at them.

"Souls aren't that hard. If you know someone well. Really well. It kills you when they die. You see how Midna is—you know what she did. This bastard just didn't stop." For once, Malladus didn't sound as threatening as he usually did. He leaned back in his seat, sad red eyes meeting each and every one of their gazes. He'd seen what losing a loved one had done to some of the most powerful entities ever created, since the beginning of time, over and over again. Midna had been pretty damn bad, but she wasn't the worst he'd seen. This bastard, though, might be, Byrne realized faintly, horrified.

"Fuck." Impa said faintly.

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"Can we go to the Meadow? Please? I really want to see how my Hylian reacts. And you know you want to go there too—it's your favorite spot!"

"No, it is not."

"Well I'm sick of the Lake. We _always_ go there."

"_We_ go nowhere. You follow like the lost puppy you are."

"Damn it, Sheik, I'm trying to compromise here!" Ravio cried, throwing his hands up in the air. Sheik spared him an amused glance before he struck Ravio's exposed side, sending the boy crashing into a nearby bush. Hilda was on Sheik in a moment, forcing him to focus on fending her off.

"This is not a compromise."

"Tell you what. You win, we go to the Lake and you can go get your Hylian. We win, we go to the Meadow and Ravio gets to go get him."

"I am not going to let you kidnap—"

"Then you better _stop going easy on us_ so you can invite him!" Ravio shouted, leaping at him. Sheik disengaged Hilda, jumping back far enough so that Ravio just barely missed him.

Sheik's lyre came to his hands immediately—thank Nayru for summoning spells—and Hilda's eyes widened. Both she and Ravio lunged as he played.

The sky had been overcast all morning, and it only marginally darkened when he finished the Song of Storms in record time and a bolt of lightning arced down from the clouds, slamming into the ground between the two of them. They went flying, Ravio shrieking a curse as loudly as he could.

"Is this good?" He asked, sending his instrument back to its case. Hilda pushed herself up and glared at him. Soot marred one cheek, and her hair was a mess. Ravio looked just about normal, save that his hair was a puff of static. Maybe he should have played quieter.

"Cheater."

"No music! You always use music! Nayru damn you!"

"It is not cheating." He replied tersely, tucking his blades away.

"You know what? Fine. Go get my Hylian." Sheik shook his head, walking over to Ravio and holding out a hand, ignoring the faint fluttering in his stomach. He wasn't going to tell Hilda. Or Ravio. Or Byrne, or Impa, or Elder Midna, or Malladus, or Marin—or even Ganondorf. He wasn't sure if he liked that, but he was going to do it.

"That kind of magic would incapacitate him. I will not do that."

"What do you mean?" Hilda asked, immediately suspicious as Sheik pulled Ravio up, cursing softly when Ravio shocked him.

"That's what you get for electrocuting me!"

"He is sensitive to strong magic. The studio nearly sent him into a fit—it is why I have not gone back."

"That's why he's hanging out in the library like a loser." Ravio chimed in, flashing Sheik a grin when Sheik glared at him. Hilda scowled.

"Fine, then. But I want to do something. Get him to show us what they do for fun. They've got to have stuff they do on the weekends, right?" Relief ran through him like ice, calming his nerves down.

"Do you think I could bring Sheerow?" Ravio asked, eyes widening.

"No." Hilda snapped. Sheik sighed and headed back up to the house, leaving the two of them arguing.

He wasn't sure about convincing Link to take them anywhere—he didn't want to impose at all, especially because he was still uncomfortable with what had happened the day before—but he could always _pretend_ to make the call.

The back door flew open just as he reached for the handle, and he jumped back with a yelp as Malladus stormed out. The massive Elder stopped, blinking at him as if surprised, then scowled.

"Where's the other two?"

"Out in the yard." He nodded his head towards the direction they'd gone, stepping out of Malladus' way. Malladus didn't move.

"Go get them."

"What-?"

"Found out what the bastard's doing, and now we're gonna go prepare. They're coming with us."

"Sheik, come in here. Malladus, _you_ go get them." Sheik signed an apology automatically to Malladus, something that the Sheikah ignored as he pushed past him and out into the yard. Impa grabbed Sheik's arm and tugged him indoors, almost before he registered that she was there.

"I want you to call somebody and go hang out at their home with them. I don't want you here by yourself." He scowled.

"I am old enough to—"

"Don't be stupid, Sheik. You found the—the eyes. You know what people are going to and have said. I don't want you here if anyone decides to come looking for you." He felt his blood run cold, and he glared up at her. Her eyes were flinty. He finally registered the shadows tugging at the edges of her frame, slight, barely noticeable, but an indication of just how great her fear was.

"I can handle it." His protest was weak, dead before it even came out.

"It will cause problems if you do. Go to the desert and hang out with Aveil or call one of those Hylians. Take your phone with you—I'll call when you can come back home. Alright?"

"Impa—" She grabbed his shoulders, silencing him.

"No arguing. I'm sorry, but it needs to be done." Her gaze was hard, but worried, and she pushed him towards the stairs as she followed after Malladus. Sheik glared at her back, not moving.

He wondered if she was more worried he would kill the intruders, or that he'd let them kill him.

Marin flashed him a tight, encouraging smile as she bundled up Ganondorf, Kotake and Koume vanishing into the kitchen.

"You are going too?"

"No, I'm not taking Ganondorf into that. I'm taking him home, then I'll head back here to deal with the Elders. Grandmas might be mad, but I'm not risking him falling into some psychopath's hands." Marin said tersely. Sheik slowly nodded, not wishing to dig further into the mess—it would only make Marin angrier.

He found his phone and dialed Link's number after shutting his door behind him. He hated that everyone just sort of threw him in with Link and Shad—he barely knew either of them, and considering how paranoid Impa usually was, it was incredibly negligent. It wasn't that he didn't like them—he just hated imposing on them, and being forced to impose made that even worse.

Just before he pressed the call button, his phone rang.

Link. He answered after a brief hesitation, uncertain.

"…Hello?"

"Awesome. Hey, Sheik, have you ever been to a movie theater?" Link's voice sounded far more distant than the phone had made it sound the last time they had spoken on it, and Sheik frowned.

"Good morning to you as well. No."

"Ask him if he's ever seen a movie before!" It was Ashei. Sheik jumped, startled.

"What-?"

"Phone's on speaker, Ashei! You're probably blowing out Sheik's eardrums!"

"What exactly do you Hylians think we do? I may have never gone to a theater before but we do own a television."

"Damn it, Ashei, you pissed him off! Stop being racist!" That, Sheik realized, was Shad's voice.

"That wasn't racist! If—" Ashei's voice cut off, and Sheik heard somebody fumbling with the phone for a moment. He sighed, and dropped down onto his bed, though he would have been lying if he'd said he wasn't amused.

"So we're going to a movie and I was wondering if you wanted to come? We haven't picked a movie yet either, and whether you want to go or not we need you to be the deciding vote." Link's voice suddenly blurted, volume relatively normal again.

"No…I have been kicked out of the house today anyway. I was just going to call and ask if you were busy."

"Really?" Link sounded incredibly pleased by that, though Sheik had no idea why.

"Well that's awesome. Okay, so, Shad and I want to go see that new movie that came out about the Hero of Hyrule, but Ashei wants to go see the remake of _Revenge of the Cucco."_ Sheik was quiet for a moment.

"That is two votes to one. That is not a tie, Link." He said slowly. Link _had_ passed his math classes, hadn't he?

"Ashei gets two votes. She says it's because she's the only girl or whatever. And she told me to tell you not to mess with the system, 'cause it works." Sheik laughed softly at that.

"I am sorry to tell you, then, but I cannot sit through a historically inaccurate movie even at home—"

"Don't do it!"

"—so I will have to cast my vote with Ashei." Though Link's phone was no longer on speaker, Sheik could hear Ashei's whoop clearly.

"Damn it, us guys are supposed to stick together! It's the only way we'll prevail against her! Alright, do you need us to pick you up? Ashei's picking something up from the dry cleaners—I know, I'm a little concerned too—and it's pretty close to the reservation. We're like, half an hour away." Sheik had to struggle to keep from laughing. It was one thing to call the reservation the reservation himself, but it was another entirely to hear Link call it the reservation. He stumbled over the word as if he was afraid it would offend Sheik.

"Would you, please?"

"Ah shoot—alright, I gotta go, but yeah, we'll be there. Movie isn't until one, so we're going to go hang out at Ashei's for a bit. That alright?"

"That is fine."

"Cool. See you soon." And Link hung up.

That could have gone worse, Sheik mused, and he opened his door. Impa's bedroom door was open, and he could see her grabbing her weapons—a Sheikah naginata and a number of smaller blades and projectiles. He still knocked, to gain her attention, before he entered.

"Can you do the back strap for me, Sheik?" It was one of the many mysteries of life how she always knew when it was him. Everyone but Hilda knocked before entering Impa's room—Hilda never went there—and yet she always knew it was him without looking. She was having trouble strapping a complex array of leather straps to her back, a device that allowed to her to sheath her weapons and still easily reach them. It wasn't one she normally wore—most Sheikah, including Impa, just learned how to use the bandages to their full effect, as tradition dictated—but he was familiar enough with it. She wore it when she expected to go into battle, either metaphorically or realistically. A chill ran down his spine. The last time she'd worn it had been when he was five.

He didn't respond, just grabbed the leather ties and tightened them until there was no give and tucked the ends of the straps away.

"Thank you. You know I don't like sending you off with some kid I don't know, right?" She asked, turning to face him. He met her gaze, studied her as intently as she was studying him, and nodded.

"I understand, _helrhnereih_." He said it softly, and she pulled him into a hug that he returned.

"Be safe. Take something to defend yourself with, alright?"

"Of course. I—um, I will need money. Link and his friends are going to the movies, and—" Impa nodded, cutting him off, to his relief. He'd never had to ask before.

"I figured as much. There's a purple rupee on the kitchen counter. Behave, _helrhnesaht._ You may want to shower before you go." She added dryly.

"They are coming here. Link said that they were about half of an hour away." He said, shaking his head. A smile twitched into existence on Impa's face.

"So I will get to meet him." He stared at her for a long second, uncertain. Maybe he should call Link back, tell him not to come.

But that would just waste time and Impa would probably insist on driving him anyway. And she _had_ met him before, after all.

Sheik went to go get ready.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Link refused to meet Ashei's eyes as he knocked on Sheik's door, shifting uncomfortably while Shad stifled his laughter.

"You are a terrible person."

"Sorry, but you wouldn't agree to go if you knew I was going on a date, yeah? I don't know what your problem with Groose is, but the man can _fight_. And anyway, if _you_ would have said yes, I wouldn't have asked Groose." Link very _very_ pointedly refused to meet Shad's gaze. _Damn it, Ashei!_

"But you're bringing all of us _with _you! And you think Sheik is going to want to sit there and listen to him stick his paws where he shouldn't?" Link cried, ignoring the fact he was tomato red. Shad sobered, glancing uncomfortably between the two of them. Ashei scowled at him, taking offense.

Because Ashei was as dense as a _fucking_ potato, she didn't get how doe-eyed Shad was when it came to her. So she'd asked out Link—which hadn't pissed Shad of because of _reasons_, but still—and then when he'd told her no, she'd asked out _Groose?!_ Did she _want_ to start a fight?

"He'll be sticking nothing anywhere I don't want him to. And anyway, if what Ceres said about him was true, I've got a master dueler, a Sheikah, and a mage at my disposal, yeah? So I dragged you along for a reason. I'm not stupid enough to go to the Mills alone with a guy I don't know, yeah?" He felt his anger dissipate. She _was_ right. The Mills was located in a pretty sketchy part of town—even someone as dangerous as Ashei could get in trouble there if she went there alone. And rumors about Groose had been circulating ever since he'd spent a week dating Ceres, and that had been freshman year.

The door opened, and Link found himself blinking up at the woman from the hospital with the scar—Sheik's aunt, the Sage. She scowled at the three of them.

There was a weapon strapped to her back. A very pointy, very large, very _metal_ weapon.

"So you're taking my nephew out today?"

"He got a curfew or something?" Ashei asked, folding her arms across her chest irritably. Sheik's aunt's eyes narrowed on her. Link elbowed her frantically—the door kept Ashei from seeing the blade glittering over her shoulder.

"Maybe. Ashei just told us we're on guard duty, so it depends if Sheik wants to sit there and glare at her date all day. Hi, Impa." Shad said, nudging Link out of the way.

And Sheik's aunt—her name was Impa? That sounded right. Sheik must have told him at some point—actually _smiled_ at him.

"Shad. Come in, then. He's been…held up." _That wasn't ominous. _She stepped out of the way and the three of them stepped into a kitchen. It was colored in white and black, and instead of a table it had a counter stretching down the middle of the room. Sitting on the counter was Ravio, and when he saw Link his eyes went wide with horror.

"Oh, _shit_. Impa, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but—" Impa looked at him for a moment, then followed his gaze to Link, and narrowed her eyes again.

No _wonder_ there were so many scary stories about the Sheikah. Red eyes looking at you like they wanted to kill you was fucking _terrifying._ She said something in Sheikah and Ravio responded, waving his hands in front of himself frantically and shaking his head. And then a half-dressed Sheik entered, looking irritated.

Sheik was nothing but muscle, lean and sinuous, sharply emphasizing his slight frame. He was tan, which only made the scars on his chest all that more visible—none of them looked deep, but some of the silvery lines wrapped around his back. He was winding a long ribbon of white bandages around his upper arm—and Link could see the flash of metal against his skin. His hair was wet, pulled back into the same braid he always wore and tied with a similarly white bandage, and hung around mid-thigh. He was wearing dark jeans hanging low on his hips, though, which was strange—as far as he knew, the Sheikah only wore the weird colored cloth he'd seen them in. Sheik already had his hands bandaged and one arm completed.

Ashei grabbed his arm tightly, and he could practically _feel_ her grin. He forced himself to glare at her, forced himself to look away from Sheik for a moment.

"_Uo e hzivra, _Sheik!" Ravio crowed, fist pumping the air as he hopped off the stool. Sheik scowled at him and responded too quickly for Link to catch. Ravio rolled his eyes at him and marched past him.

"Yeah, right. Well, _I'm_ going to go make out with my lovely bride-to-be, and _you_ can take the high road alone. 'Kay?"

"Bastard."

"Sheik, watch your language."

"That's what Link is here for, aunt." Sheik replied, arcing an eyebrow. Link flushed, but Impa didn't glare at him.

"I think Malladus needs help with the Shop, since he kicked Byrne out." Sheik's half-grin dropped, and he scowled at her again.

"Fine, fine. I apologize for…that. It is good to see you." Sheik added, directing the last part towards the three Hylians as he waved a hand in the direction Ravio had gone.

"Yes. It is." Ashei replied, nodding empathetically.

"What's with the jeans?" Shad asked, pulling a stool out from beneath the counter and sitting on it. Sheik tilted his head towards his aunt.

"She says that I should dress in clothing more like those you wear, because the _Rheshae_ is about learning the culture." He didn't sound very happy about it, but he finished wrapping his arm and leaned against the wall behind him.

Ashei's grip got tighter. _Damn it_, he was going to have bruises.

"You did with the Gerudo, nephew. Fair treatment for both races, yes?"

"Do you have any pictures?" Ashei was ignored, thank Farore.

"That was different." Sheik replied, glaring at her sourly.

"What do you mean?" Shad asked curiously—Link wished he could signal Shad to _shut up_, but Shad could be as dense as Ashei sometimes.

"You wear a lot more clothing than the Gerudo, and even the Sheikah. And you idiot-proof your clothes with zippers and buttons and things. I find it irritating."

"You're just anti anti-idiot. Even with reading. Not everything is as complicated as sh—um…a puzzle." Link amended, paling when Impa turned her glare to him. Shad snickered, and Impa ignored him. It was unfair. But, Link hadn't spent the night, so maybe that had something to do with it.

"Go finish getting ready, Sheik. And send Malladus after Ravio on your way upstairs."

"Malladus!" Sheik shouted, leaning around the doorframe and vanishing. Ashei let go of him and bounced over to Impa, and Link focused on her.

"But, seriously, are there any pictures of him with the Gerudo?"

"There's a photo album in the living room. Shad can show you. I have to talk to _you_." And she pointed at him. Link nearly had a heart attack, for a second thinking she was reaching for her weapon. Ashei smirked at him and linked arms with Shad, who'd scrambled off the stool.

"Lead on, my mage."

"Ashei—"

"Shut up and walk." And they were gone.

_Crap._ She turned to face him, expression unreadable.

"You're the kid from the hospital."

"…Yeah…"

"And you go to Sheik's school?" She asked. Link nodded.

"We all do. And I'm his dueling partner." That got a reaction from her—she tilted her head back in a strange sort of nod, expression hardening.

"You're Link Elne, aren't you? I've watched your performances at the Tournaments."

"Yeah, Sheik said you judged them for the Guard or something like that. Sorry if I'm, ah, annoying or anything." Which was true. Link really didn't like the fact that he caused all sorts of trouble at the Tournaments—he competed, won, but didn't take the jobs or scholarships offered which angered a _lot_ of people and made the publicity all that much more worse. He got cash prizes, though, which his Grandma had made him put in the bank for college and the future. It was how they were still living in their old apartment, with Niko's help.

"Look, I'm not friends with him 'cause he's a Sheikah and you're all badass. I'm not using him or anything—and Ravio's already threatened to kill me, so you'll have to duke it out with him." She raised an eyebrow, and he had that bad feeling that he'd gone in an entirely different direction than she'd been going.

"Good. I'd like you to keep him out of the house for as long as you can—maybe have him stay with one of you tonight. I assume neither he nor Shad told you what happened? I won't be home tonight, and neither will anyone else. I don't want him here alone. Can you do that much?"

That, Link knew for a fact, was a test.

"I'm gonna tell him you want him to stay over." He answered, frowning at her. Was something bad supposed to happen? Was Sheik in danger? And why was no one telling him what Sheik and Shad had found? He wouldn't press it, but dammit, if one of them was in danger 'cause of it, he was gonna break some fucking bones.

And Shad couldn't take Sheik. And he didn't trust Ashei alone with him anymore. Which left him. Link ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach—Aryll was at a friend's, and if the friend cancelled Fanadi could watch her.

"I don't care." Impa said dismissively, and left. Link's frown deepened.

Sheik reemerged with a black short-sleeved shirt. He yanked it over his head and blew his bangs out of his face, still looking annoyed as he pulled it down over his torso. It was tight on Sheik, outlining his muscles. _He looked good in black_. It was a shirt for Fortune's Choice—they were a pretty big alternative rock band, especially in Kakariko, where they were from. Even Link listened to them when he was driving a lot. Somebody had written on the shirt in silver marker on the back. It took Link a moment to realize that it was a signature—that the band had _signed_ Sheik's shirt. Sheik caught him staring, and scowled again.

"Is it really that bad?"

"What—no! I just—your shirt's signed." Sheik kept staring at him.

"…And?"

"How many bands do you know?" A grin flickered across Sheik's lips.

"If they originate in Kakariko, I have probably worked with them before. I get a lot of clothing and CDs from them for helping them—I do my work for free. The Elders charge them for the other things."

"Really?" Link sounded stupid, but he could only stare. Sheik really had no idea how much that shirt alone was worth? _Wow._

"If you want to borrow something, feel free." Sheik said, gesturing behind him. Link's eyes widened.

"Can I?" He smiled, and Link followed him through the living room. Ashei was bent over a heavy book, pointing at something and speaking to Sheik's aunt while Shad tried to be invisible at the other end of the couch. Link stared curiously at Ashei for a moment before he realized what she was probably looking at, and he clamped his mouth shut, focusing solely on following Sheik. Did she really think that Sheik's _aunt_ would have those kinds of pictures?

Sheik led him up a flight of stairs and to the first door to the right.

Everything was sterile in Sheik's house—really nice looking and clean, but very little to show that people actually lived there. Sheik's room was different. It was still really clean and kind of impersonal, but there were signs someone lived there—a rumpled bed, a laptop charging on a desk atop an array of papers, and a dresser with drawers that were just _slightly_ askew. It was kind of cramped, a long rectangle with an alcove for a bed and a single window between the bed and desk. Link wandered over to the window curiously, looking out of it. A yard stretched out below him, leading towards a clump of trees and a long, thin dirt road snaking towards another large house just far enough away so that it wasn't a 'neighbor' to Sheik's house.

He heard a door close behind him and turned, startled. Sheik shot him an apologetic look, fingers moving.

"I cannot get to my closet if the door is open."

"No, it's fine." He said, walking over to him. Sheik's closet was small, but it was crammed with stuff. A metal pole up at the top held a bunch of shirts in every color (besides brown, oddly) though most of them were black. Behind that were shelves crammed with CDs.

Like, a _lot_ of CDs.

"And you don't ever use them?" He asked in disbelief, looking at Sheik. Sheik shook his head.

"No, not really. I have downloaded the ones that I like to my laptop already. Sometimes Ravio will borrow one, and Hilda has taken a few, but that is…about it. I feel bad when I refuse them, but I would feel worse if I threw them out, so they just sort of…accumulate. It is a bad habit, but…" He trailed off, shrugging as his face colored slightly.

"You're pretty strange, you know that?" Sheik tilted his head, the hint of a smile on his face.

"And you are any different?" Link shrugged and began browsing through the CDs.

"Why do you have Bonooru and Pierre in here?" He asked, amused. They sang primarily comedic songs, and weren't very good, in his opinion.

"I blame _that_ on Ravio. They came to the studio and he insisted on helping them. He almost blew up the studio, so I took over. Ravio bought that and stuck it in there afterwards."

"I can believe that. Is it alright if I borrow this one?" Link asked, pushing himself to his feet as he held up a Fortune's Choice CD—it was their latest one, to his surprise, and 'TO SHEIK :D' was written on the actual CD itself in large letters.

"You can keep it if you want, Link." Sheik replied, sounding amused as Link got out of the way. Sheik closed the closet door and opened his door, stepping out into the hall.

"I couldn't—"

"I will not use it. I think that I have everything that I need." Sheik added, softly, touching his pockets briefly. It took Link a second to realize he was talking about stuff he'd need when they left, not the CD.

"Your aunt said I'm supposed to keep you at my house tonight." Sheik shook his head, muttering something Link figured was rude beneath his breath.

"I am sorry. She is just…being careful."

"No, it's fine. Don't worry. I mean, you'll have to sleep on the couch, but that isn't fatal." Link replied, flashing him a smile.

It was strange, to see Sheik dressed semi-normally. Link kept expecting him to say something un-Sheik like. It was just that he looked so much more threatening, dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, than he had dressed like a Sheikah, even when his hair and bandages were the exact same.

"Are you alright?" Sheik looked at him steadily for a very long moment, and Link didn't look away.

"I am fine." He finally sighed, and made his way downstairs. Link followed, skeptic.

Ashei was grinning like she'd won the lottery, and had a picture clutched in her hands. Shad glanced up at the two of them and them very pointedly looked away. Impa was nowhere to be seen, though Link could hear noise coming from somewhere.

"Your aunt is the best, Sheik. You know what she gave me?" Sheik actually paled at that, and she thrust her arm out, showing them what the picture was off. Link had half been expecting it to be a baby picture, but it wasn't.

It was a fairly recent picture of Sheik. He was, predictably, shirtless, and dressed only in a loose pant-like red cloth. Golden armbands encircled his upper arms, etched with symbols. Besides the bandages on his hands—red, probably to match the pants—he wasn't wearing anything Sheikah-y. He was missing a scar on his stomach, and one of the ones on his shoulder was an angry red, looking relatively fresh, but he looked fine—he had a half grin on and had his hands half-risen.

Sheik relaxed.

"So?" What in the world was _wrong_ with Sheikah? He honestly didn't see the problem with Ashei carrying around a half-naked picture of him?

Well, Link wasn't really one to talk. He knew for a fact Ashei had at _least_ one of him. She claimed it was for reference, whatever that meant. But, then again, during last year's Tournament practice he'd taken his shirt off and Aryll had laughed herself to tears when a picture of him had ended up in the papers.

"So what? I'm keeping it, yeah? You're even better looking than Link."

"Ashei!" Link cried, feeling the sudden urge to cover himself—he'd known she'd seen him mostly undressed before, but she didn't need to go _telling _people that.

"Doesn't mean you're bad looking, baby. Just means I'm going to get this one to the beach this summer." Ashei sang, tucking the picture away in her bag. That gave Link pause.

It was actually a good idea.

"You're worse than Aveil." Shad groaned, burying his head in his hands. Link felt a twinge of guilt—he should have made Ashei stay in the car. He couldn't imagine how badly Shad felt about all of it.

"So did Link tell you what you're really doing today?"

"What?" Sheik asked very slowly turning his head to look at Link. He threw his hands up, the CD in one hand.

"Sorry! Slipped my mind. I told your aunt. Uh, Ashei decided to not to tell us we're really going with her to the movies to make sure her date doesn't try anything until we got here. So Groose is going to be there." Sheik touched the top of his head, frowning.

"The Hylian with the red…ah, poof?" Ashei burst into peals of laughter, doubling over.

"Poof? Don't call it that. He'll beat the shit out of you, yeah? It's called a pompadour."

"He could try." Sheik said softly, nodding his head. Link grinned, struck by the scene—Sheik, totally calm, and still looking like he was going to beat somebody senseless at best.

"That's what we're here for. I don't know if Ceres started the rumors but there are some going around about him grabbing at her." Shad said, shrugging.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Link muttered. Sheik looked at him curiously and Ashei shot him a glare, but Shad ignored him.

"So are you ready? Got everything?"

"Grab a jacket!" It wasn't Impa's voice, but it still hollered down from upstairs loud enough to make Link jump. Sheik shouted something back that wasn't in Hylian, and whoever had yelled laughed back.

"Yes. Are you?"

"I'm not taking any pictures. Don't give me that look." Shad replied, raising his hands in the air and bolting for the kitchen. Ashei snickered and bounced after him, leaving the two of them to follow.

"Do you really expect a fight?" Sheik asked quietly.

"No." Link said, shaking his head as Sheik paused in the kitchen doorway and grabbing a black and purple striped sweatshirt off of a coat rack. He caught Link's gaze, and reddened slightly.

"It is Ravio's. See?" He tugged the hood forward, and Link couldn't help but laugh aloud—there were bunny ears attached to the top of the hood.

"Yeah, leave that. I'm sure I've got something in the car and if I don't you can borrow mine or one of Ashei's." He hesitated a moment before nodding, and Link grinned again, before he could stop himself.

Maybe today would be fun after all.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Sheik sagged against Link's side, starting the Hylian. Link put an arm around him to steady him, but Sheik didn't move. Ashei was ahead of them, flirting with Groose, and two of Groose's friends had accompanied him—Stritch and Cawlin. Both of them were on edge and uncomfortable with Shad and Link and Sheik's presence, which would have amused him had that tension been it.

But people kept _staring_. Not at Link, though Link had gotten more than a few nods and hellos, but at _him_. It wasn't, Ashei had drawled, because he was Sheikah, but she'd refused to elaborate.

"You okay?"

"How do I get them to stop staring?" Sheik asked bluntly, straightening and moving away from Link as the line moved, and they reached the cash register. Link laughed and let his arm fall away, pulling out his wallet.

"You can't, sorry. Three tickets to _Revenge of the Cucco_, two large popcorns, and two waters, please. Shad, you want anything else? Sheik, tell the nice lady want you want." The cashier blushed furiously, and Sheik folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Link for a moment. He turned to the cashier with a sigh when Link just kept grinning, and signed helplessness. Shad dropped his head in his hands, mumbling something as he shook his head.

"I have never been to a movie theater before. Do you think that I will regret it if I get half of what my companion ordered?" She reddened again, but shook her head and rang him up. They paid for their things and headed into the designated theater after distributing their purchases.

Sheik decided he liked movie theater popcorn. It was better than Impa's, in any case, though he wouldn't admit that to her. _Ever_.

Groose and Ashei had chosen seats in the middle of the theater, and Link led them to the very top row—to give them some privacy, he assumed.

Link let him have the end seat, which Sheik was grateful for. There weren't any entrances up this high, but it offered a great vantage point—he could see the other viewers flooding in and taking their seats.

"So, try not to be offended."

"What?" He blinked, focusing on Link. His face was mostly cast in shadow—the lights were dimming, and Link lowered his volume in time with it.

"It's a really bad movie from my great-great-great grandmother's time, but it's supposed to be horror and Ashei insists it's a classic. But either way, the Sheikah are kind of shown to be stupid and…unfavorable. In the movie." Sheik looked amused.

"This is a movie in which you point out all the bad decisions the characters make, then?" Link grinned, and his teeth flashed in the darkness.

"Pretty much."

"Damn it, Link, Sheik, shut it! I don't want to get kicked out of the theater." Shad hissed, and Sheik heard him smack Link. Cawlin and Stritch entered the theater and hovered in the hall for a moment, uncertain, before scrambling up the steps to the row just below theirs, casting the three of them suspicious looks.

"Ashei'll yell if anything happens, and we can like, jump down on the backs of the seats. Like a Sheikah."

"Sheikah do not do that."

"Like a movie Sheikah, then." Link retorted, and Sheik laughed.

"You will have to show me that movie at some point, Link." Link was quiet for a moment, then nudged Sheiks' arm with his elbow.

"I will."

"Shut the fuck up, you two!"

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

The entire premise of the movie was that the Sheikah began experimenting with wild cuccos, tampering with the inherent aggressiveness of the animal to create some type of super cucco, which got loose and took revenge on the Sheikah that had been experimenting on it and its brethren, the Hylians that had sold it to the Sheikah, and the Hylian child that had thrown pebbles at it on the farm it had previously lived on.

The acting was bad, even for a remake, and Sheik found himself frustrated through most of the film. All of the characters made absolutely ridiculous choices and found the worst possible places to try and fight the bird. Their logic was absolutely _stupid_ and they did nothing when they had the chance to do something. Their tactical decisions alone would have given Malladus a heart attack. Making their final stand in a _cucco coop?_

_Really?_

Link found his reaction amusing, and laughed throughout most of the movie.

Not once, in the entire two hours they sat in the theater, did Groose do anything that upset Ashei. Sheik was entirely convinced the three Hylians were paranoid.

And then, to make things better, they went out for lunch.

Sheik couldn't eat anything else—he'd eaten his entire bucket of popcorn, because it kept him from saying anything, and half of Link's, and he was now thoroughly sick of popcorn—but he followed them down the road to a fast food restaurant—the same type Shad had taken him to earlier in the week.

"This is supposed to be romantic for the two of them, correct?" Sheik asked, watching Ashei curiously. She seemed to be enjoying herself, though Groose still looked uneasy with their company.

"No. I refuse to let anyone, much less Ashei, go on a romantic anything with Groose." Link said immediately, shaking his head.

"He has done nothing tonight that would give you any reason to be so opposed to his presence." Sheik admonished, shaking his head. Link tugged gently on his braid, earning him a brief scowl.

"Not tonight, no, but he's always been a dick to me. I know people are supposed to be able to change and all that crap, but I don't think that I really believe that. And if he treats me like shit—and I have asked multiple people and gone through several records of my behavior towards him, and it is true that I've never done anything mean to him—then what's he going to treat her like? Or anyone else, for that matter?" He shook his head as he spoke, and Sheik frowned at him.

"Malladus is like that, I suppose. But he simply believes he cannot change. I dislike him in either case, so I suppose it does not particularly matter." Sheik added, shrugging. Link laughed.

"Is there a reason for your dislike?"

"He treats Byrne badly. He is more sensitive about it now, but he is still a very callous being. And I do not care what Byrne says, I know he is lying to the Elders about what he does. It is not something I usually care about, but Byrne is scared of whatever it is—he does not speak of it to me. Not much scares him." He and Byrne were close—closer than he was to Marin, or Aveil, or even…well, he never saw them, so they probably didn't count.

He and Link walked in silence for a moment, and Sheik watched the others curiously. Shad seemed to get along with Stritch fine—the two of them were in a heated discussion, and Shad looked like he was enjoying himself. Cawlin was kicking at the sidewalk, casting sullen glances between his two friends as he trailed behind Shad. Sheik and Link were bringing up the rear.

"Did I ever tell you how badly your brother scared me? After you got out of the hospital, he called me in for questioning. He came in with Marin and she just sat down like she was walking on eggshells and he stalked in with his arm uncovered and proceeded to swear at me and accuse me of all sorts of stuff for the next hour. Then he just started laughing and told me if I'd been a threat to you he'd have killed me before the cops knew the Sheikah were interested in me 'cause of what happened. He cares about you a lot, Sheik. I'm sure whatever it is, he just doesn't want to bother you or upset you with it. If it was something important, I'm sure he'd tell you." And for some ridiculous reason, that comforted him. Not Byrne verbally assaulting Link, but Link's assurance that Byrne could handle it.

"I do not doubt his abilities. I just…worry about him."

The rest of their group suddenly stopped walking, and Ashei started jumping up and down, clutching Groose's arm. They approached cautiously, Link absently rubbing his arm and wincing.

"What's going on?" Link asked, looking wary. Ashei pointed at a battered green door with a sign taped up on it.

"The _Dungeon Bros_ are playing at the Milk Bar tonight at five! Shit, that's like, an hour and a half from now!" Sheik's eyes snapped up to her. The _Dungeon Bros_?

He was so, definitely dead. Maybe Link would kill him before they got there. Would he, if Sheik begged enough?

"We can go, if you want to. The Groosenator's back at the Mills. Not too far of a walk to get to it." Groose offered—and Sheik was struck by the fact that Groose didn't seem like all that bad of a person. At least now. He seemed to really like Ashei too.

"No, I can't—I've gotta—Groose, you're absolutely wonderful. Can we go after we eat?"

"The Milk Bar is a bar, Ashei. They serve food." Shad said dryly. Groose glared at him but Ashei clapped her hands.

"Yes! Let's go now! I'll meet you there, alright Groose? I've gotta make a stop. Gimme the keys, Link!" She kissed Groose's cheek, making the Hylian turn bright red, and she hurried towards Link.

"You're not driving my car." Link snapped back, shaking his head as he backed up.

"No time to argue! C'mon, Link!"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd rather let Shad drive us across the country than let you drive my car from the Mills to the Milk Bar. 'Kay?" Sheik looked between the two of them, amused. Ashei turned her gaze to him, and he immediately balked.

"C'mon, Sheik! Tell him!" Shad doubled over, laughing when he saw Sheik's expression.

"It doesn't matter what Sheik says, you're still not driving. Now unless you want to sit here arguing for the next hour and a half…" Link trailed off meaningfully, taking a half step closer to Sheik. Ashei growled, throwing her hands up, but didn't press the matter any further and began speed-walking back in the direction they'd come from. Shad jogged to catch up with her, and Sheik glanced towards Groose and his friends—but they were already halfway down the street, almost out of view.

Something hit his legs, and he froze, eyes widening. Link doubled over, damn near _hysterical_, and Sheik slowly looked down.

"Are you a Gibdo?" A small child was clutching his legs, looking up at him with wide eyes. She had two identical puffs of blonde hair hanging wildly from the top of her head and as he watched, huffed, blowing bangs out of her blue eyes. She gasped when she saw his eyes, but didn't let go.

_What in Nayru's name…?_

"…No. I am a Sheikah, _hse meht._"

"_Fado!"_ The cry, at least, didn't scare him. Link sobered up as a woman bolted out of a nearby shop and scooped up the child, eyeing Sheik with no small degree of terror and suspicion. He signed reassurance to her automatically, tilting his head as she opened her mouth to say something.

"She is your daughter?" Sheik's question seemed to strike the woman mute, and she stared at him as she slowly nodded. Link's sapphire eyes were huge—had Sheik done something wrong?

"She is very brave." He said quietly, smiling at her as he again signed reassurance. That seemed to flatter the woman, and she smoothed the child's hair back for a moment.

"She didn't bother you, did she?" Link laughed again at that, and the woman turned, startled, to stare at him for a second before returning her attention to Sheik.

"No, not at all. If you are going to hug a Gibdo, _hse meht_, make sure that they see you first. They do not like surprises." Sheik added, amused, as he met the girl's gaze. Suddenly shy, she ducked her head into her mother's shoulder, blushing.

"We'd better go before Ashei breaks into my car, Sheik. 'Cause you're paying for it if she does." Link added, inching away from the woman. Sheik's lips twitched and he signed a goodbye, bowing briefly towards the woman.

"Have a good evening."

"Y-You too." She stammered. Sheik could feel her eyes on him until they turned the corner, out of her view. Link snickered as soon as they had, and Sheik folded his arms across his chest as he glared at the taller boy.

"You're—just—did you see her face? Jeez, Sheik, she thought you were gonna eat her kid alive and then you just—wow. I guess you do have some social skills." Link laughed, all but doubled over. Sheik stared—he had no idea what Link meant. Link seemed to realize that and he reddened again, and straightened, picking up his pace.

"Ah, c'mon. I wasn't kidding about the breaking-into-my-car thing."

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

Sheik grabbed Link's arm, expression drawn, and Link immediately stopped, glancing at him questioningly. The others kept going, disappearing into the Milk Bar without noticing. Sheik shifted nervously, mouth pressed into a thin line for before he hesitantly spoke.

"…Do you remember the picture you saw in the studio?" Link stared at him blankly for a minute before remembering, and he nodded as realization dawned on him.

Sheik knew the _Dungeon Bros_. Was he embarrassed about it?

"I do not want to…ruin things for Ashei. I do not know much about Hylian customs but if my connection to the band becomes known, Groose will think the worst, and I do not want that." Sheik shifted again, suddenly looking anything but dangerous and far smaller than he really was. A half smile touched Link's lips, and he ducked his head, hiding it.

"I wouldn't worry about offending Groose, but if it worries you, we'll split from them, 'kay? The Milk Bar is way bigger than you think it is." Sheik still looked hesitant, but he looked grateful.

"I just—"

"Sheik! Holy shit! You got our message!" A blur of blue and yellow tackled Sheik and Link snapped to attention, reflexively reaching for the sword that wasn't there as a twin blur of red and yellow tackled Sheik and his original tackler.

"Message?" Sheik repeated, looking bewildered as the two blurs—the _Dungeon Bros_., Link realized in shock—slung their arms around him, grinning ear-to-ear. The one in the red was taller, older. The one in blue was bouncing in place, looking ecstatic.

"We sent a letter to the studio, didn't know if you'd get it, but you did! This is awesome! I didn't think you were gonna show up!" Sheik was silent for a moment, slowly turning his head to look at the younger brother.

"…What is it exactly that you think I am going to be doing here?"

"You brought your lyre, didn't you?"

"Did you?" Link asked blinking in surprise. Sheik scowled and shook his head.

"No. I would not bring something so important around the city."

"Who're you? Wait, are you a friend of Sheik's? Sheik, why didn't you tell—holy shit! You're Link Elne!" The exuberance behind the cry shocked Link and he stumbled back a few steps as the younger brother launched himself away from Sheik and damn near tackled Link.

"Can I please have your autograph? Please? You're totally my hero!" Link stared at him, as taken aback as Sheik had been a moment ago. He stared at the younger boy, at the smile stretching across the older boy's face, then at the look on Sheik's face. And an idea occurred to him. As much of a bastard as Groose was, Ashei did deserve to have a good date.

"I'll sign whatever you want, as long as you can do something for me."

Sheik blanched.

-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

"What kind of game are you playing at, Elne? I don't want no favors from you, an—" Link let out an exasperated sigh, cutting Groose off as he raked a hand through his hair. He couldn't believe he'd done this. That he _was_ doing this.

"Look, it's gonna happen anyway. Sheik just doesn't want to ruin Ashei's date. This way you make yourself look good. And he lectured me, which I didn't at all enjoy. You don't have to—"

"The Sheikah? No, I'm…fine with it. I'd appreciate it. I'm just trying to figure out what your angle is." Groose growled back, eyes narrowed. Link rolled his eyes, glancing at the stage, where Sheik's friends were busy setting up some equipment for their show. He glowered at them, wishing he was glaring at Sheik.

Sheik had agreed, on the condition that Link fix the 'potentially-ruining-Ashei's-date' problem by making it look like Groose had asked Sheik to play a specific song _with_ the band, so they'd give a shout-out to the two of them.

Link had almost told Sheik very flatly that it would break Shad's heart, seeing as it was something Sheik had asked Link to not talk about, but Shad had had years to try and start something with Ashei, and she looked so _happy…_

Maybe Grayblade was right and he was getting soft. Though the context was different—the grizzled old blademaster had only begun snapping that at him when Link had told the man he was consistently losing to Sheik in practice. Anything to do with Sheik or his people rubbed Grayblade the wrong way—when he'd asked Link to come in to weekend practices and Link had told him he was heading to the reservation to pick Sheik up instead, he'd almost thought Grayblade would have a heart attack.

For Farore's sake, even Ashei's dad didn't pitch a fit about the Sheikah, and his family had lost some of their old ancestral land when the reservation had been cut off from the rest of the city. Though, Link would admit, that might have had to do with the fact it was nothing but barren rocks and cliffs leading up to Death Mountain. Ashei's dad had taken one look at Sheik, given the gruff little nod thing he did when he liked a kid, and told him that if he caught him doing anything he didn't like with his daughter there'd be the Dark Realm to pay for it.

"Ashei deserves so much better than you, Groose, I can't even begin to tell you. I'm not offering to make your date magical or whatever you want to call it. Sheik just doesn't want to piss her off." Link snapped back, eyes narrowed. He didn't wait for a response, and pushed past Groose, making his way towards the back of the bar.

Sheik was staring, perplexed, at the younger _Dungeon Bro. _when Link entered, the elder moving a large keyboard onto the stage.

"Groose said yes. Don't know why you bothered."

"…That is good. Will you give me a straight answer or not?" Sheik asked, frowning ask he asked the question to the boy.

"No! It's a _surprise_! Did you read the second half of our letter?"

"I'm gonna go sit with Shad, 'kay? You alright back here?" Sheik glanced at him and tilted his head slightly in a nod, flashing him a smile before returning his attention to the boy.

Link stayed where he was for a moment longer before turning around and venturing out into the crowded bar. He found Shad sitting at a booth behind Groose and Ashei's table, and flashed him a smile as he dropped down beside him.

"Where'd you go off to? And where's Sheik?" Shad asked, scowling. Link grinned.

"So, ah, Sheik ever tell you that he works at the reservation's studio? The place where they record all the music and take magic out and all that stuff?"

"…Yeah. Wait, does-?"

"So he knows the _Dungeon Bros. _and he's gonna perform with them tonight. They're kinda weird, in all honesty, but, anyway, he didn't want to ruin Ashei's date or anything so he had me tell Groose so they're gonna say it was a request that Groose made." Link's grin dropped away as he spoke, and Shad looked at him, amused.

"So Sheik's gonna play? Is he really that good? I've never heard him."

"I've just heard him play lyre a couple of times, but he's _really_ good. I don't know if I'll be able to sit through this one, though. First time I heard him play I almost got sick—the magic, not—don't give me that look." Shad smirked, but his gaze was still worried.

"So Sheik knows about your condition?"

"It's not a disease, Shad." Link drawled, glaring at him. Shad rolled his eyes.

"You know what I meant."

"It's not that big a deal. I've heard him play before where I didn't feel anything, so I'm good. Hey, are you drinking anything tonight? And where'd Stritch and Cawlin go?"

"Home. Stritch wanted to go check on something and Cawlin was bored out of his mind. And no, but after the match you and Ashei had about driving, you aren't either."

"But—"

"You gotta get the both of us home safe, maybe Groose if he's drinking, and then you've gotta get Sheik home alright. Do you know what his aunt would do to you if you so much as scratch him, never mind get into a car accident with him in tow?" Link groaned, dropping his head onto the table.

"Spare me the lecture."

"Well somebody's gotta do it!"

A sudden wave of cheering silenced any response Link could have come up with, and he lifted his head to see the _Dungeon Bros. _hurry onto stage, all their stuff apparently set up. They introduced themselves by saying they'd gotten a request and had a special guest with them, which sent the whole place into an uproar. Link didn't pay much attention to them—he didn't _mind_ their music, they just weren't his favorite—until Sheik came out, and Shad kicked him under the table, nodding frantically towards Ashei's table. They'd must have said Groose had requested it or something along those lines, 'cause she looked ready to explode with excitement, and Groose was blushing furiously.

The crowd in the bar whispered and people nudged one another as Sheik took his place at a keyboard.

Could he even play that? Everybody on stage scrambled to their spots.

"So we have something incredibly special for you all tonight. A lot of you have probably never heard this song before, but Sheik played it for us once and we fell in love with it, and we got permission to play it tonight for you all. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so we're very excited. The best translation of its name that we could get for you is _Midnight's Lament_." Sheik ducked his head, and for a moment Link thought he was going to actually laugh at the boy who was speaking. It must have been a Sheikah song. Link clapped along with the rest of the bar as the _Dungeon Bros. _scrambled into position. They waited until the cheering had died down before starting to play.

Well, technically, _they_ didn't. Sheik started out alone, and everyone immediately stilled, fell silent.

He played beautifully. The song was deep and dark and rich and sad, and Sheik's preserved all of that and more, even when the _Dungeon Bros. _added their own instruments to it. Surprisingly, they didn't ruin the song either—kept it desperate and mysterious and wistful all while adding their own unique sound to it.

Magic hummed below the notes, strong but not powerful enough to really bother Link—though he'd be sore until he drank some of Fanadi's special tea.

Sheik was entirely engrossed in the music, a half smile on his lips and his crimson eyes all but closed as his fingers danced across the keyboard.

And the music grew, louder and faster, and Link found himself literally holding his breath when the song came to a close—reverberating with sorrow and rage and love and pain—he was the first to recover, and was on his feet clapping as Sheik's eyes opened.

Sheik flashed him a grin as the rest of the crowd recovered and began roaring their appreciation, giving a quick bow the audience before disappearing off the stage.

"Holy _Farore_, that was—holy _shit. _Sheik just—_damn_. This was better than—_jeez!"_ Shad stared at the stage, eyes round.

"You didn't tell me he was _that_ good!"

Link laughed.

"I didn't know. I mean, I knew he was good, but, not that good."

"I do not know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment." A hand touched his arm, briefly, and Sheik slid past him into the booth, dropping down beside Shad.

"I meant it in the best way—I swear I didn't mean to insult you—" Sheik laughed, fingers moving quickly before settling on his lap.

"I was not being serious. I am glad you two enjoyed it."

"Did he get the name of the song right?" Link asked, sitting next to him. Sheik burst out laughing.

"N-No. It was written ages ago for _Delr _Midna. It is _Midna's_ lament, not Midnight's."

"Well, it's kinda close." Shad shrugged. Sheik shook his head again, dropping it onto the table as he laughed.

"Apparently not." Link said dryly.

"Ashei did not look upset. I assume she enjoyed it?" Sheik asked, when he'd recovered. Shad nodded, looking over at her table.

"Yeah. You probably made her year—well, you and Groose." His voice wasn't as cheery as it had been a moment ago, and Link saw that Sheik noticed—he looked as if he were going to ask Shad a question, then seemed to think better of it.

"So that letter they kept mentioning? Did you even get it?" Sheik's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly.

"No. But I have not been to the studio in a long while."

"So you had no idea they were here or that they'd asked you to play with them, and you just _happened_ to come here?" Shad asked, staring. Sheik shrugged and Link smirked. Shad's gaze moved between the two of them, and he scowled.

"I don't believe you."

And Sheik laughed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**LOL Yeah. It's Midna's Lament.**

**So important things DID happen last chapter. FYI. Just sayin'.**

**So something I figured I'd clear up—Ravio does call Link 'his' Hylian. For those of you who've never played Link Between Worlds, every Hyrulean has a Lorulean counterpart. Except for the Sages. Ravio's family is from Lorule on one of his parent's sides, and Link is 'his' counterpart. Hence the somewhat disconcerting nickname (Sorry, Link).**

**So to make up for how long this took, you get Shirtless Sheik. Which deserves to capitalized. X3 Sorry. This is probably my favorite chapter so far. The Revenge of the Cucco is not entirely my creation. You've seen the memes, right? I think there's one with that title—not positive, but I'm sure there is.**

**ALSO. I finished that Zelda AMV I mentioned. It was an Xmas gift to a friend of mine, and it's sad, but ****I'm very proud of how it turned out x3 There are spoilers for Hyrule Warriors/Twilight Princess/Skyward Sword, though! ((Sorry, tried to post the link and it wouldn't let me. If you wanna see it you'll have to youtube 'Legend of Zelda And the Snakes Start to Sing' x3 Again, sorry!))**


End file.
